


Baby Sitting Kidvengers!

by Lunabell_Marauder_Knyte



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Adoption, Age Regression/De-Aging, Asgard, Babysitter Harry, Emotions, Family, Family Bonding, Family Dinners, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Feels, Kid Bruce Banner, Kid Clint Barton, Kid Fic, Kid Loki, Kid Natasha Romanov, Kid Steve Rogers, Kid Thor, Kid Tony Stark, Magic, Magic Politics, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-06-13
Packaged: 2018-07-14 04:49:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 53,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7154273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunabell_Marauder_Knyte/pseuds/Lunabell_Marauder_Knyte
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just before the portal is finished to send Thor and Loki home, Loki cast a spell that deages the Avengers.Guess who's the lucky wizard assigned to care for the little brats? AwesomeParentHarry giving the Avengers a second chance at childhood, this time done right with lots of love and attention.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Harry

**Author's Note:**

> If some of the facts seem out-dated or weird, it's because I started this story back when the Avengers was out.

Bored with life in the wizarding world after completing his prophecy, Harry decides to jump the pond. He expected to get a mundane common job to pass the time when he arrived in New York. He had both the Potter and Black family funds to keep him comfortable for at least three life times. So day by day passed, with small useless jobs. A pizza maker, a store clerk, a secretary, employee in a candy store, he worked in the museum, on the docks, at the carnival, and at a mechanic shop.

Finally he worked for an old man who owned his own book store. When the owner decided it was time for him to retire, Harry decided to buy the shop from him. Harry was getting used to using technology but he was also very attached to his magic and needed a place where he can work and it wouldn't interfere. Though with all the advancements that there were in the muggle world, Harry assumed he'd have to pay out of pocket to keep his book store alive. He was glad that that wasn't the case.

People still came in every day to buy books. Harry also added a study and quiet section for near by students who found this place closer than the library. He also had a kids section and every day picked a book and read aloud to anyone who would listen. Sometimes it was just kids, but other times it was people from other ages as well.

All in all, Harry had a quiet, quaint, life and he loved it.

Everything was nice and quiet until that one faithful day when a giant portal opened up in the sky and unleashed hellish horrible monsters into New York.

Hero complex kicking into maximum over drive, Harry rushed into the battle field, protecting civilians and killing monsters left and right.

That was how he met the Avengers. One heck of a meet and greet. An entire side of a building was going to fall on some civilians and who Harry learned later on were Captain America(Steve Rogers), Black Widow(Natasha Romanov), and Hawk-Eye( Clint Burton). Harry passing by cast a protection spell over all of them and helped lead the civilians towards safety.

Being as outnumbered as they were, the Avengers gladly accepted Harry into their team(unofficially).

When the mess was settled and Harry walked away before the smoke metaphorically cleared, he thought that, that was that. Since Harry had used magic to protect his shop all he had to do was clean up some glass, vacuum some dirt and dust, and pick up some books that had fallen over.

Thinking his hero days were over(again), Harry helped out the owners of the shops next to his that weren't as lucky.

When he was approached by a man in a black suit, Harry politely declined any offer that they had made. He wasn't interested in glory, money, or anything else that they offered. He finally had his nice quiet life and he was going to cling to it as tightly as he could...but they were insistent.

Eventually Harry arrived at SHIELD and was greeted by Hawk-Eye and Black Widow. They thanked him for his help and told him what SHIELD was about. Harry firmly stated that he wasn't interested in joining any organization.(Especially with all the drama he went through with the Order and the Ministry) and they understood.

"What about a team?" Harry turned to see an African American man in a black trench coat and an eye patch.

Harry raised an eyebrow, "A team?"

"Yes. The idea is, we have a team of heroes. When no one else is up for a specifically difficult task like the one you helped out in, they're called in. It's called the Avenger Initiative."

"And you want me?" Harry asked.

"Who wouldn't want The Boy Who Lived on their side?" Hawk Eye whispered that his name was Fury.

"I left Britain so I wouldn't have to be on a team," Harry replied.

Fury shrugged, "Evil doesn't care, but it'll continue to strike. Since you'll be living here, can we at least have you on speed dial?"

Harry looked at all of them before sighing, "You already do. When you do call I expect Hell to be unleashed with Satan riding a hell hound. I expect fire and explosions and raining evil monkeys who sing horribly catchy techno tunes...the real deal."

They all smiled at him.

And that's how it started. In those weeks that followed he was introduced to the rest of the team properly. Due to his magic he never knew too much about science or technology, though he was learning, but the portal they were working on to send Thor and Loki back to Asgard was something that stroked his curiosity and interest. He also gave his two scents he had about magic.

When Thor was busy helping with the portal, everyone rested easier with Harry being the one to watch over Loki since Harry's magic seemed more potent that Loki's, or at the very least, Loki's magic tricks wouldn't work so easily on Harry.

It was on the day before the portal machine was finished that Loki seemed to try something. All of the Avengers charged into Loki's cell room, prepared for (almost) anything. Chanting ancient Asgardian words there was a blinding flash.

Harry's magic reacted swiftly and shielded him instantly from whatever the spell that Loki had cast. However he wasn't fast enough to send a protection spell to the others. Rubbing his eyes to clear his vision Harry looked around the room. Looking at eye level it seemed like everyone else had vanished. Looking down...Harry realized what Loki's magic had done. Seven pairs of young eyes looked at him expectantly.

"What happened?" Agent Hill demanded as she and Fury barged in.

Harry pointed at the mini-Loki, "He did a spell and deaged them all. It must have bounced off my when my magic pulled a protective force field over me and hit Loki..."

"What now?" Agent Hill asked Director Fury.

Fury turned to Harry and said, "There's no fire or explosions or singing monkeys, but I have your first mission Potter."

Harry's eyes widened then he closed them and pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned.


	2. New Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loqui is Latin for "Speak."

There was a lot of confusion. The kids seemed to still have all of their talents(Steve was still strong with super soldier serum, Loki still had magic, Thor still had strength and thunder, Tony and Bruce still had their genius, Hawk Eye still had incredible aim, and Natasha was still an incredible gymnast), just not at a deadly level like before. As far as Harry was concerned the Hulk was also dormant(and okay he might have used some Occlumency and gave some calming potion to Bruce for good measure).

Only problem was that they were reverted back to different ages and had only the memories led up to those ages.

From the files that Fury had given him, Steve should have been smaller and weaker but the super soldier serum was still in his system and working just as before. Which made Steve a tall and strong eight year old. Thor seemed to be the same age as Steve, his hair a bit shorter compared to when he was an adult, still a bit long, but just under his ears. His brother Loki was seven, as were Bruce and Clint. While Tony and Natasha were turned back to six.

Harry had no idea why they were reverted back to those ages but he learned a long time ago that sometimes it's better not to ask questions. They'll only complicate things and things were already complicated.

Harry could see that Steve and Bruce were openly frightened being in a strange room that they didn't recognize with a bunch of strange people. Natasha, Tony, and Loki were also a bit wary but they were trying to keep a brave face on. Thor and Clint on the other hand were very loud and defiant, glaring and demanding answers(well from what he understood, Clint was, Harry couldn't understand Thor). Thor was also standing in front of Loki in a protective manner, like a big brother would.

Okay, the Avengers being reverted back to their kid selves wasn't the only problem. Loki and Thor seemed to only be able to speak some ancient Asgardian language and Natasha was speaking Russian.

"Any ideas?" Agent Hill asked while Fury went to talk to some scientist about the matter at hand.

"It's a spell, so there _is_ a chance it'll wear off..." Harry answered.

"What exactly are the chances of that happening?" Agent Hill asked skeptically.

Harry stretched out his hand and let some of his magic flow, "Hmm...Well, we may not want to hold our breaths."

Agent Hill sighed, "Great. All of them are brats, have no adult memories, and three of them don't even speak English..."

"One problem at a time Agent Hill," Harry held out his hand towards all the children and whispered the word, " _Loqui_." he let his arm down and turned to Agent Hill, "There, that should do it."

"I demand to know where we are, captors!" Thor yelled.

"Where's my nana?" Natasha demanded.

"Where _are_ we?" Loki asked.

"You made it so they all speak English?" Agent Hill asked, impressed.

Harry shook his head, "No. It's a spell. Every one in the room is speaking their native language still. I just made it so everyone else's mind translates it telepathically, so it _sounds_ like our own native tongues in our minds."

"That's helpful," Agent Hill replied.

"Yes but it only works for a few hours. I'll have to keep recasting it every once in a while," Harry said.

Looking at the kids, Agent Hill said, "Director Fury will like to conduct a few test on them. See if there's a cure."

Harry didn't like the idea of all these kids, his friends, being experimented on. Also, the Avengers were difficult to deal with as adults...he didn't want to know the pain of dealing with them as kids will be like.

"This is a magic problem. Fury did put me in charge of them. Give me at least a day to see if I can reverse this," Harry said.

"Do you think you can?" Agent Hill asked.

Harry shrugged, "I can't know until I try. Plus I know that there's an aging potion I can try later."

Nodding, Agent Hill gave some orders into her talkie and then turned to Harry, "You and the kids will be moved to Stark Tower. We'll send some people before hand to prep everything but for now that'll be your base. You'll have agents there to help but you'll be the one in charge."

Harry nodded as she left the room.

"Excuse me, mister? What are we doing here?" Steve asked pulling on Harry shirt to get his attention.

"Yeah! Where are my parents? My father will sue you for kidnapping!" Tony yelled.

"Our father will also be very displeased of our kidnapping! Return us at once and perhaps he will have mercy...but it is unlikely!" Thor chimed in.

"Same here!" Natasha agreed while Loki, Bruce, and Clint all nodded.

Harry raised his hands in a peaceful nature, "Everyone...please calm down..."

Harry thought about what to tell them. They obviously didn't remember their adulthood, much less SHIELD or the Avengers. As far as they all remembered, there were all supposed to be at home, safe an sound, with their parents.

Harry sighed. He didn't want to lie, but if no one asked specifically about the truth then he wouldn't answer any unasked questions.

"Well?" Tony asked impatiently with his arms crossed and foot tapping. If he hadn't just become a guardian of seven potentially dangerous children, he would have found that very cute.

Right now he needed them to not panic or become scared. From what he knew about their personalities he knew that Steve, Bruce, Natasha, and perhaps Clint, needed to be assured that they were safe. Thor, Tony, and Loki needed their egos stroked and made to feel very important. He could work with that. Later he'll find a way to tell them if the chances arises...now...now it was time to lie.

"All of you were...in dangerous situations. Taken because all of you have incredible talents that someone wanted to harness," that wasn't really a lie. It made SHIELD sound a bit like the bad guy,(Harry wasn't completely sure they weren't) but SHIELD did recruit them for their talents, "we managed to rescue you. It seemed that you were under the influence of some potent substance. I've been placed in charge to look after you until we can make sure there's nothing harmful left in your bodies."

"What about the people who took us?" Natasha asked.

"You don't have to worry about them. You're safe," Harry assured them.

"How do we know you are not merely lying to us, and you are in fact the one who has captured us in the first place," Loki asked from behind Thor.

"Yeah! How can we trust _you_?" Clint asked as he pointed at Harry accusingly.

It was then that Fury walked in, hands behind his back, two tall and muscular agents behind him with stoic faces and sunglasses. Fury turned to Potter, "Mr. Potter, it seems the young ones would rather not have you look after them after all. Though you were nice enough to take time off of your dangerous top secret missions. Don't worry...these agents here will watch over them in here, instead of the penthouse where you planned on taking them. You do have other more important missions to do and people to save. You are our number one wizard agent."

Harry furrowed his brows in confusion until he realized that Fury had been listening to the kids questioning Harry. Fury was using reverse psychology on the kids. Compared to the two agents in the room, Harry looked less menacing, which would appease Steve and Bruce. His bravery and super agent status would interest Natasha, Clint, Thor, and Tony. While his magic status will intrigue Loki.

Playing along Harry pulled his best poker face and shrugged, "Well...I tried sir. I better get going. I have always wanted to tame a dragon. Maybe now that I have time off I can finally get a chance."

"A dragon?" Thor echoed, excited etched on his face.

"Secret missions? Like what? Are you a spy?" Natasha asked excitedly too. They may be kids again but a part of their adult selves were still in there.

"Dragons aren't real!" Tony protested.

Harry raised his shirt to reveal some claw marks, they weren't actually dragon claws, but they didn't need to know that. _And_ he _had_ fought dragons before. "Oh yeah? I had to fight one and obtain it's magical golden egg when I was fourteen. I had to out fly it...and I had to fight against snarky merpeople. But they weren't as bad as the time when I was eleven and faced that giant three headed dog, or when I was twelve and face a sixy foot Basilisk or...well you guys don't want me boring you with my reminisces. I should get going now. Have..." Harry looked between the two agents and made a face, "have fun..."

"Wait!" Thor yelled and ran up to Harry, "I wish to hear more of your courageous tales against such beasts! And you are magic! I may not be good at it, but my brother is. He can learn plenty from someone like you who has battled dragons and three headed animals! We wish to go with you! Is that not correct brother?"

Loki nodded, determined from what Thor had said, "I would rather go with someone who is also magic."

"Well I want to go too!" Natasha ran up to Harry and grabbed his hand.

"I...I want to go with him as well," Steve stuttered.

"Me..me too," Bruce said.

Clint looked over at Tony, "This guys seems better then the other grown ups. I'm going with him. You in or out?"

Tony rolled his eyes, "I can't believe you idiots believe in magic. It's not real! And why the heck are those two speaking like people from the seventeenth century?"

"So does that mean you're staying here?" Natasha asked. "And magic _has_ to be real. When we first got here I couldn't understand any of you, he said something, and now I can. How do you explain that?"

Tony's face flushed because he didn't know how to answer that. He remembered hearing the blonde kid and his brother speaking a language he never heard before. The redhead had been speaking Russian, he knew that because some of his fathers business partners did too. He also didn't understand any of them and now they were all speaking perfect English...

Tony crossed his arms and pouted, "Alright...I'm going too. I _still_ don't believe in magic, but I do plan on figuring out how you did that thing with the language. I bet its some sort of transmitter that sends signals into our minds that translates it for us."

"Do you know how stupid that sounds?" Clint asked.

"Well...it'll take some very advance technology but...it sounds possible," Bruce said.

"See? Don't talk if you're an idiot," Tony stuck out his tongue at Clint then went to Bruce and extended his hand, "Anthony Stark. You can call me Tony. You seem to be the only one here who makes sense other than me."

"Um...thanks. Bruce Banner." Bruce introduced himself.

"You are all so strange," Thor commented as he crossed his own arms and tilted his head to the side with an amused smile.

"We're strange? You're the one speaking like Shakespeare," Tony replied.

"Who?" Thor asked, confused.

Tony rolled his eyes and then looked towards Harry, "Well? What are you waiting for? The faster I can have my own space the better. Hurry up and take us to this penthouse of yours."

Harry turned to Fury, "It's not possible that he was actually _less_ of a brat as an adult right?"

Fury shrugged and said, "I might have to give you a raise for having to deal with his...good luck Potter. You're going to need it."

Fury and the agents were leading the kids to the nearest chopper and all the way, someone was bickering with someone else.

"Was he actually going to leave them with the agents if I hadn't wanted to?" Harry asked agent Hill who had been behind the door the whole time.

She had an amused smile on her face, "Everyone is aware of the situation because Fury _had_ asked for volunteers."

"Yeah, and how'd that go?" Harry asked.

"Mmmm...more people asked to be sent of missions over seas, bomb squads, paper work, and grunt work...he would have forced someone to watch them if you weren't here but...you are, so no matter what, you'd be involved somehow."

Harry ran a hand through his hair, "Do me a favor agent Hill?"

"Yes?"

"Next time I open my mouth for something stupid, just knock me unconscious."


	3. Off Limits and Pancakes

Agent Hill accompanied them to Stark Towers to help Harry get adjusted and explain a few things. He may be civilian and used to muggle living, but he was used to _normal_ muggle living. Tony was anything _but_ normal.

Arriving at the Stark Towers Tony instantly realized that the building belonged to him, or rather, his father. While the group went up a head, Tony held back and just seemed to glare at the building. Well...Harry thought glare was too strong a word for a kid but he had to remember that Tony had been an adult a few hours ago and was still one deep inside. Also, from the files he was reading on the way there, Tony was very far advance by the time he was four. Being six his mental mindset only continues to expand.

"Where _is_ my father?" Tony asked.

Harry had been doing a lot of thinking. He didn't know a lot about his friends personal lives, but from what he had gathered(and what some of the SHIELD agents have told him[it really reminded him about his time in school where people gossiped like teenage girls]) a lot of them had some serious parental issues. He didn't blame them.

People like Thor and Loki who's parents _are_ gods, they have a lot to live up to. Tony who's father was a famous icon and was recognized as a man who brought humanity a step further in technology and into the future, Tony was also left with huge shoes to fill. Clint and Natasha weren't at that level of parental problems but they did work for a man with high expectation and who was used to obtaining the best results.

Bruce and Steve were something else though, Harry had to admit. They were okay with their families. For them it's really more of being away from them for obvious reasons. Due to the Hulk and people chasing him because of it, Bruce couldn't and wouldn't endanger anyone on purpose, especially his family. Steve was from another time all together. There were stories about him and from the legends he's heard, Steve had a mother and a friend named Bucky. But Bruce was a bit of a nerd and Steve had been small. Harry was positive they both had bullies to deal with in every day life.

Having grown up in a horrible home, treated as he was, unable to be have good childhood-family oriented memories...Harry was tempted to show these kids what it was like to have a good childhood. To let them know that childhood didn't have to be about disappointment and high expectations and danger. That it was fine to be just who they were and they would be accepted.

"Your dad is away on a business trip," Harry answered.

He knew that with Tony's genius he'll eventually have to explain the _actual_ situation to the kid, but for now he'll play pretend.

Tony looked up at Harry and just stared at him for a full minute and shrugged, "Whatever. I'm hungry. I want a cheese burger, fries, some onion rings, and a large soda. And if magic _is_ real, I expect it to be ready by the time I get up there, _magic boy._ "

Harry sighed and mumbled to himself, "Magic doesn't work like that..."

Shaking his head he walked up to the elevator where Tony and another agent were waiting for him. Everyone else had already been escorted upstairs. As they went up Harry watched Tony who seemed to be taking in everything around him. From the technology used to the décor to Harry and the agent.

Harry wasn't completely sure how he was going to deal with Tony. The other kids were much more...child-like. They had reverted back to their child state of minds, but some of their adult selves were in there too. For the most part he figured he could deal with all of them, but it seems like Tony's genius was going to be a set back. Harry idly wondered if it wasn't just this time around that Tony's intelligence was more of curse rather than a gift.

As an adult Tony's mocked and teased because of his arrogance and self centered attitude, but those were all defense mechanisms he must have gained as a boy. Really, what was the difference between Tony's genius and his fathers fame and Harry's lightning bolt scar and _his_ fathers name?

Harry's start with his family belittled him, Tony's start with his family and living in his fathers shadow discouraged him.

Harry gained friends and he wasn't alone anymore. Tony was kept to hone his skills and grow mentally...all that time with nothing but his vast knowledge and incredible mind doing nothing but thinking.

Looking down at the six year old, Harry felt a sudden urge of protectiveness. His hero complex kicking in and wanting to protect Tony. He was saved from the loneliness, and wants to save Tony as well.

"You are a rude person. Kidnapping me and now you're staring...should I be worried that you might be a pedo too?" Tony asked as he crossed his arms.

Harry rubbed his hand across his face.

This was going to be a challenge.

.:~*~:.

The floor they were given had everything they needed. A room full of beds that were just the right size for the kids. The room was used just for sleeping so they didn't really see the need to separate Natasha from the boys. If she made a request they'd comply, for now they'd keep it as is. Along one side of the wall there were four beds, on the other were three beds. There was a book shelf stocked with children story books and a rocking chair.

Aside from the sleeping room for the kids, there was a room filled with toys, a TV, movies, more books, and video games systems with video games.

There was a bathroom. A step latter for the little kids, some bath toys, and some miniature bathrobes of all sizes, each with everyone's intended name stitched on them. They were all white. Harry assumed that even if Natasha wouldn't complain, she wasn't exactly the lover of pink and Barbie. And even if they were once Earth's mightiest heroes...they were now kids, and favorite colors and whining were something that Harry would rather avoid. Then again, if it was something as simple as changing the color of something, his magic could totally handle that.

There was also a kitchen. Having been forced to learn to cook for his relative and sort of gaining an interest in the art, Harry was impressed with the kitchen and fully stocked pantry and refrigerator.

There were other rooms that were just there or were storing something. Harry made sure it was nothing dangerous. Then there was his room. He asked for something basic. He never felt comfortable taking more than was necessary, even with how rich he was. He was used to just having what he needed. A bed, a dresser, and a night stand were the only things in the room.

Harry let them explore their temporary home. Every once in a while someone would come up to him and ask him questions. Mostly Thor, Loki, and Steve. The first two being from another world and Steve being from at least seven decades ago. Still...there were somethings that weren't around when Natasha, Clint, and Bruce were kids so they had questions too.

The kids all seemed to have warmed up to him. He wasn't too surprised. Kids were naturally trusting with they childish obliviousness and wonder. Tony though...he had some sort of vendetta against him or something. Always keeping the farthest away from him and glaring at him.

"Mr. Potter?" an agent came up to him.

"Yes?" Harry asked.

"Director Fury wishes a report on their current status as well as any theories you can assess. He wishes our scientist and experts have as much data as possible," the agent said.

Harry nodded. "Alright. I'll used my magic to try to assess how powerful this spell was. I'll see if I can make it so my magic out powers this spell, therefore canceling it. If that doesn't work there are a few spells of my own I can try, as well as an aging potion. But if it comes to that I think the potion only changes the body, not the mind. They might still have the mind of their child forms."

The agent nodded as well, "We'll leave you to it then while we report back. There are agents at the exits, some on the ground and some in the sky. No one knows about this, and there is little chance anyone will attack, but we've come to learn that when things are...this strange, one never really knows. If anything occurs this cell will call Director Fury, Agent Hill, and all of the other agents here in the building."

Harry accepted the mobile and gathered the kids while the agents left.

"Alright...well, like I said before. You were all...infected, with something. We're sure it's not dangerous to you all but we're still looking for some medicine to make sure it stays that way. In the mean time I'll have to do a magical check up," Harry explained.

Tony crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, "Magical check up? How does this guy _sound_? You guys aren't seriously going to believe this lunatic are you?"

"Careful how you speak. I do no fully understand why ye have such doubtful thoughts about his ability. Can you not sense the power coming from him? And even if thou doesn't believe in magic ye should still mind your manners. He is your elder," Thor told Tony.

"Are you for real?" Tony demanded.

Thor was about to reply when Harry placed a hand on his shoulder, "It's alright Thor. I'm also quite impressed. Can you really sense my magic?"

Ignoring Tony's facial expressions of mock, Thor turned to Harry and smiled, "Yes. It's very different from my people. Still strong but...just different."

"Well I need to make sure there isn't any dark magic infecting you and the rest. Are you willing to be the first participant?"

Thor puffed out his chest and beamed at Harry, "I will do it with bravery and honor!"

Harry smiled and ruffled Thor's hair affectionately. Then he turned to the rest, "What I'll be doing is sending my magic kind of like a scout, through your bodies. It'll be a tingling sensation but it won't hurt, promise. It might take some time and my concentrating. So while I'm busy, the rest of you are free to play. Just make sure you stay away from the kitchen. I don't want to you touch anything what can hurt you. Don't wonder off anywhere else in the building. If you need anything and it can't wait, come find me. Understand?"

He received multiple nods and Tony's, "Whatever..."

"And I promise that when we're done I'll treat you all to something delicious," Harry promised.

"Like what?" Clint asked.

"Hmm...well, I'm sure I'll have no problem with any one you...most of you anyway," Harry gave Tony a pointed look, in which he received a tongue being stuck out at him, "so while I'm working on Thor you can all think about what you will like and we'll discuss some options later. Sound fair?"

"Yes~" he received multiple of those.

They moved to the balcony and Thor sat in one chair while Harry sat in another, facing him. Harry closed his eyes and began the process. Thor felt the magic enter him and closed his eyes too. It was odd dealing with a demigod. He had powers too that were trying to protect him from Harry's magic, but since there was already some invasive magic in him already, Harry's magic was somewhat welcomed. Loki's magic had intended harm while Harry's magic is trying to heal, so Thor's natural supernatural powers seemed to have granted Harry access after awhile. It definitely made it easier for Harry. All he had to do now was remove Loki's magic and hopefully, maybe, Thor will return to normal.

.:~*~:.

Watching Harry and Thor walk off towards the balcony the rest of the kids returned to the TV/play room. Clint sat himself in front of the television and began to watch Tom and Jerry.

Natasha and Steve went to the small table where the arts supplies were at and started drawing their favorite desserts. That way Harry would have a better idea of what they wanted and also so they could compare ideas and maybe combine sweets to make a super mega awesome dessert.

Loki went to the book shelf and took out the Grimm Brothers Fairy Tales, children edition and began to read.

Tony scowled at them but then shook his head. He saw Bruce who was also going towards the book shelf but stopped him. Bruce looked at him oddly and Tony dragged him away.

"Where are we going?" Bruce asked.

"We are going to find the lab," Tony said with a smirk on his face.

"But Harry said we weren't allowed to wonder to another part of the building," Bruce reminded the other genius.

"So? This building belongs to my dad, which means it belongs to _me_. I have the right to go as I please. And besides, my father is sure to have the best equipment in his lab. I'm _dying_ to try it out! I'm sure you'll love it too," Tony said.

Bruce wanted to protest but Tony was just smiling like an idiot and kept leading him towards another part of the building. They easily made it to the lab and soon Bruce's fears began to ebb away as the scientist took over

They were both working on separate things when something Tony had been working on was knocked over and fell on a machine. There was vapors, and sizzling, beeping and a small fire broke out.

"W-we should get Harry," Bruce stuttered.

"I can handle this," Tony said as he looked over the lab for something to put the fire. The adrenaline and beeping weren't helping so he decided to try and fix the machine.

Oh boy, if he didn't fix this then he was going to be in _so_ much trouble! Harry would yell at him and call him stupid and a failure! Then he'll tell his dad!

Tears began to weld up in his eyes.

He barely noticed when the door opened and closed as Bruce ran out of the lab. The beeping in the machine increased as Tony tried his hardest to find the problem but he just couldn't _see_ it! He _was_ stupid!

When the beeping got more rapid was when Tony finally realized his defeat and jumped off the counter but he also realized that it might have been too late. The ignored fire had spread and was going to reach some flammable chemicals which were bound to explode on contact.

He covered his face with his arms in a basically useless attempt to protect himself from the explosion he knew was about to happen.

Harry then barged into the lab, Bruce and the rest of the gang trailing behind. Hand extended his hand Harry yelled, " _ **PROTEGO MAXIMA!"**_

There was a shimmer in front of Tony and when the explosion happened there was a force field protecting their side of the lab where they stood. When the explosion disappeared so did the force field.

There was a lot of smoke that made it hard to breath. Harry grabbed Tony by his arm and dragged him out of the lab. Once they were back on their floor Harry had his arms crossed and a face of anger on his features.

"Steve?" Harry commanded.

The blonde jumped a bit and his eyes widened at the older raven's strict and cold tone of voice, "Y-yes sir?"

"Take everyone into the bedroom and make sure they all get ready for bed. I'll be there to talk with all of you once I have a privet talk with Anthony," Tony flinched a bit at the use of his full name.

Steve gulped but nodded, motioning with his hand towards the room. Harry's posture was strong, determined, authoritative, and angry. No one protested or argued. In fact they were very quick in making it to the bedroom.

Harry walked towards the balcony where he had been treating Thor before Bruce came running, panicked, yelling about fires and lab equipment. Tony silently followed.

Harry motioned him to take a seat. He did and looked down into his lap. Tears of fear and shame threatening to fall.

"Didn't I _specifically_ say you weren't allowed to wonder around the rest of the building?" Harry ordered.

Tony knew that if he spoke he'd start sobbing so he merely nodded in response.

"Then why did you _deliberately_ disobey my orders?" Harry demanded.

Harry was expecting an answer this time so he asked, "Well?"

"I...I just wanted to...I wanted to see the labs..." Tony began to choke sob through his explanation, "I was being...being as careful as I could...I didn't mean for it to explode...I'm sorry..."

"Tony..."

"I-I'll fix the machine and anything else in the lab, I promise!...I know I can! I'm sorry I broke all that! I really am!"

"Tony..."

"Bruce didn't do anything...It was all me...I wanted to go own there and I dragged him with me...I just wanted something to do..."

"Tony!"

Tony stopped and looked at Harry. He was smiling gently and there were no more traces of anger in him. Harry knelt down to be at Tony's eye level.

"I don't care about those machines," Harry said.

"You don't?" Tony asked.

"Course not," Harry replied.

"Then...why were you mad?" Tony asked confused.

"Because you could have gotten hurt!" Harry cried.

"But...the m-machine..."Tony fiddled with his fingers in shame, "I don't think anyone can fix it..."

Harry sighed, "Tony...machines and anything in the lab can be fixed or replaced...Not you. Yes I was mad and we might get in trouble a bit because of that but the lecture will only last about five or ten minutes...I would have had to live the rest of my _life_ knowing you got hurt while I was supposed to take care of you."

Tony frowned at that, "But I'm not your kid...I'm not your problem."

Harry rubbed his face and pulled the other chair up to him. Sitting down he leaned forward and began to explain to Tony, "You aren't a problem Tony. You're a genius." Tony's head snapped up at that, "I may not know personally how that's like but it's been explained to me before. Your mind is always thinking. It never seems to stop. For normal people who can just sit there and not think or let their thoughts wonder so their mind is left alone...it's not like that for you. You _need_ problems and challenges because being idle and bored is like torture to you."

Tony felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment. That was the first time anyone has _ever_ come close to understanding him. Closer than his own mother.

"I don't think, I _know_ , you are smarter than me. You'll always be smarter than I'll ever be," that too was a first. He's met a lot of adults he knew he was smarter than, but none of them were willing to admit it out loud. And those who did were never as calm and un-angry as Harry was. Who was this man? "And I know your mind will continue to be like that. I want to help you. I don't want to hinder or delay your improvement. And I'll be more than happy to let you have some time in a lab if that's what you really want. Just let me know so either me or one of the agents can be there to make sure you aren't in any danger or that if anything bad happens like it did tonight, there'll be someone there who can take care of the situation...even though you're a genius...you're still a little kid."

"So...you're not angry?" Tony needed to make sure.

Harry sighed, "I was a little bit, but not as much as I was scared."

"Scared? Why would you be scared? Didn't you fight dragons?" Tony asked. Everything he ever learned growing up told him not to believe in magic, but after what happened in the lab...he was wavering.

"Yeah...but after everything I've been through I'm not worried about myself. I was scared that something was going to happen to you...that you'd get seriously injured," Harry replied.

Tony started to cry again but this time he didn't know why. Should he be happy? And what was this feeling?

"So...I'm not in trouble?"

"No...so long as you promise me that next time you want to go somewhere you tell me. Deal?" Harry extended his hand.

Tony shook it as firmly as he could, remembering his father telling him that a strong man has a firm handshake, and nodded, "Deal!"

"Alright. How about now we go into the kitchen and you can help me make pancakes for everyone," Harry offered as he stood up.

"Pancakes?" Tony mimicked Harry and they headed towards the kitchen.

"Despite public belief, pancakes are anytime food. And they're delicious. Anything can be added to them. Chocolate chips, bananas, strawberries, blue berries, and anything else." Harry replied.

"I can't cook," Tony said, feeling lighter. He's never felt so light in his whole life...granted it's he's only been alive for six years, but still! He was a Stark...every year for a Stark is as eventful as a decade.

"It's easy. Cooking is a lot like science. You have to measure the ingredients carefully and add them at the right time. Kind of like making a chemical experiment. What happens when you follow a books directions to the letter?" Harry asked.

"The experiment is a success," Tony replied.

"And if you don't? If you miss one chemical or don't put in the right amount? What happens then?"

"Well...best case scenario is that it's a failure. Worse case scenario...it explodes," Tony replied.

"Science and cooking...same thing. Except one is edible," Harry replied.

Tony giggled at that, which really surprised him.

Harry gathered the ingredients, the bowl and the whisk. He poured the flower and milk but let Tony crack the eggs. He did the whisking while Tony grabbed all the berries and fruits, syrup, jams, and whip cream from the fridge and placed them on the table. When the batter was done Harry perched Tony on a stool and handed him a spatula.

The look of serious concentration on Tony's face as he waited for the pancake to be ready on one side so he could flip it was very adorable. The rectangular pancake pan they were used let them make a lot of pancakes at once. Tony would look at Harry every few seconds to make sure he was doing the exact same thing. When Harry flipped one, the older man guided Tony on how to do one too. With the first one a success, Harry trusted Tony with his half of the pancakes.

When they were done Harry helped Tony get down and moved a huge tray of pancakes to the table. Tony asked if it was too much, but with what Agent Hill told Harry about Thor and Steve's metabolism, he worried there won't be enough.

"Wait here. I think I let everyone think I was mad for long enough. I still need to have a similar talk with the rest of them, but it can be done after we eat. I'll be back...and remember our deal," Harry said and ruffled Tony hair.

Tony mocked glared but when Harry was out of sight he smiled. He decided that he liked Harry. Harry wasn't like other adults that treated him like a child...Harry was aware of him being technically a child, but talked with him like he would to an adult. Tony liked that very much...he liked Harry very much. Harry was exactly like he wanted his father to be like.


	4. Story Time and Check Ups

Harry walked into the kids bedroom and was a bit amazed at how quiet they were. Had they not all been sitting up on their beds, Harry would have thought they'd be asleep. Alas, they were all awake. Harry cleared his throat and they all looked up.

" _Are we in trouble?"_ Natasha spoke but Harry didn't understand her, and realized it had been a few hours since he cast the translator spell. Raising his arm he spoke the spell once more.

"What did you ask Natasha?" Harry asked.

"Are we in trouble?" Natasha repeated.

Harry walked over and sat on her bed and shook his head, "No."

"Why would _we_ be in trouble?" Clint asked and then pointed at Bruce, "It was Bruce and Tony who disobeyed the rules."

While the others silently agreed, Bruce lowered his head in shame and Harry saw the tear stricken cheeks.

"No one is in trouble, but that doesn't mean I'm going to just let this slide. Got it? Now gather around, I need to have a brief talk with all of you," Harry said.

They all gathered around Natasha's bed and sat on the floor in front of the wizard while Natasha just scooted over and sat next to Harry and looked up at him expectantly.

"What Bruce and Tony did was wrong because they put themselves in danger."

"I'm s-sorry," Bruce stuttered and Harry noted that his voice was a bit cracked from the crying he had done.

"It's alright Bruce. You did the wise and brave thing by coming to get me when you did," Harry said to him and then spoke of the others, "Bruce realized that the situation was far over his head and came to look for me even though he knew he'd get in trouble. That shows great responsibility and wisdom. Had he not, both him and Tony could have been severely injured or worse...I've already had a similar talk with Tony. I understand that all of you have extraordinary talents and might want to do a specific activity. You don't need to sneak off to do it. Just tell me and I'll do my best to get you what you need.

"The rules placed by some of the grown ups don't always make sense but most of the time they're there to keep you all safe. But if a rule ever seems unreasonable or you just don't get it, like anything else, just come and ask me. I'll either explain it or rethink it, because sometimes the rules are placed there to take the kids off of the adults hands. Are we clear?" Harry asked as he staring each one of them in the eyes.

They all nodded, though they seemed a bit confused. It was Thor who spoke their puzzlement.

"You are very strange sorcerer. You are our elder, yet you treat us as equals."

Harry scratched the back of his head, "Well...I was taught that if you wanted the respect of others you needed to show them respect in return."

"Yeah but isn't that just for grown ups?" Steve asked.

Harry shook his head, "No. It's a lesson one learns _as_ they grow up. It takes some longer than others to learn the lesson though."

"So you will treat us as adults?" Loki asked, very confused and intrigued by this adult who is so different from Odin.

Harry thought about it before he answered, "I will acknowledge and remember that you are children, but will not treat any of you as lesser than me. Sound fair?"

"That is more than fair. No one in our palace has ever spoken to us in such a manner. It is refreshing," Loki replied.

Thor nodded, "My brother speaks the truth."

"Alright...well, I just came in here to let you guys know I'm not angry at anyone. As long as you agree that if you plan on doing anything at all questionable or risky, that you come and fetch me first, alright?" Harry asked as he stood. Everyone else stood as well and nodded. Smiles breaking out on their faces.

They all liked Harry. He wasn't like any of the adults they were used to. He was in charge so he was strict but not in an overbearing way. He talked to them as if they were adults but treated them gently like a parent would a child. He was patient and gave wise advice.

All of this didn't seem at all like an imprisonment or a capture. It seemed like a vacation, and they were all enjoying it...as long as they kept Harry from getting upset.

Harry smiled back at them and clapped his hands, "Well now that that's settled, we should get to the kitchen before the pancakes get cold."

"Pancakes!" Steve and Clint asked happily while Bruce brightened with a smile behind them.

"At this hour?" Natasha asked.

"Pancakes are great any time. Come on," Harry said as he led them to the kitchen.

"I do not understand. What are pancakes?" Thor asked with a curious face.

Clint's eyes widened, "You've never had pancakes?"

Thor and Loki shared a look, "No. Is that uncommon?"

"Well...duh! Pancakes are like...the best breakfast ever!" Clint declared.

"But it is not morning. Should we be not having these so called pancakes if they are meant for breakfast?" Loki asked.

Harry chuckled, "Alright settle down. Clint, Thor and Loki aren't from around here. What's normal for you may not be normal for them. And yes Natasha, normally pancakes are for breakfast but really they can be eaten at any time...we just won't be making a habit of it. Think of it as a home coming gift. I did promise you guys a delicious treat. And Thor and Loki, pancakes are..I guess they can be considered pastries. They are normally served as a breakfast like I said before but...well, I'll let you be the judge of them for yourselves."

Thor was about to ask something when Tony opened the kitchen door and had his arms on his hips and was glaring at the group, "They're getting cold. Hurry up!"

The aroma coming from the kitchen stopped all talk as they kids all ran to the table and started to dig in. Clint and Steve were enthusiastic about it. Natasha was more reserved but then the kid in her won out and she went wild with dressing her pancakes. Bruce seemed to just keep it simple with maple syrup and butter. Thor and Loki watched as the others prepped their pancakes before following their example.

One bite into the pancakes and a broad smile broke out on Thor, "This is delicious!" and he started to scoff more and more down.

"Ugh..." Natasha grimace as she watched both Steve and Thor devour the huge pile of pancakes on the table.

Loki nodded and nudged Thor, "Brother you are a prince and are eating like a starved savage!"

Thor looked up and smiled sheepishly, "My apologies." Thor then tried to eat at a much slower paste but was failing.

Harry let out a chuckle, "So long as you don't choke you can eat them as you wish Thor."

Thor smiled at Harry and began to eat a bit more quickly but with another nudge from a blushing embarrassed Loki, not as enthusiastic as before.

Harry watched them all as they tried different toppings, passed their creations around, and helped each other serve milk and pass that around. It was quite the sight to see and Harry found himself enjoying it.

He then heard a 'clunk' noise next to the spot on the counter that he had been leaning on. Looking to the side he saw a small stack of pancakes with maple syrup and a few blueberries on top.

"They won't leave you any," Tony murmured as he took up the stool next to Harry.

Harry looked at him, "What about you? Did you get some?"

"I like donuts better," Tony replied with a shrug.

Harry shook his head, "Nonsense. I've never eaten a lot anyway. How about if we each get half of this stack? We did work _very_ hard on this for us _not_ to eat it."

Tony looked to his side but nodded anyway. He picked up his fork and took a bite after Harry did. It was like dealing with a stubborn baby who would only eat some of the mushy food after watching their parent do it. In fact...that was _exactly_ how it was. Tony would stare at Harry until the wizard took a bite. When he did, Tony would match what Harry ate and then took a similar bite. This happened until their stack was all gone.

Once everything was gone and everyone was full Harry ushered them to the sink to wash their hands and then to their beds.

"I'm going to make sure all the doors and windows are secure. Tony you can go change in the bathroom while the rest of you go to your beds and get settled in. I'll be there once I'm done," Harry said.

"Will you tell us a tale of your adventures?" Thor asked excitedly.

Harry smiled and said, "Sure. If that's what you all want."

Thor and Clint cheered in agreement, while Steve and Bruce nodded. Loki and Natasha shrugged, and Tony just rolled his eyes and went to the bathroom.

Harry made his rounds and checked all of the perimeter. He couldn't cast any spells inside of the building without it causing some damage to the technology. Though he did cast a barrier protection ward around the outer perimeter of the building. If anything remotely dangerous, powerful, or magic came through it, Harry would know.

He walked back to the kids room expecting to find everyone there since he took his time checking to see if everything was in order. Tony, however, wasn't in his bed.

"Where's Tony?" Harry asked the group.

"He hasn't come back yet," Steve answered.

Harry frowned, "I'll go check on him. I'll be right back."

Knocking on the bathroom door Harry asked, "Tony? Is everything alright?"

No one answered so Harry knocked again, a bit louder, "Tony?"

The door unlocked and Tony opened the door and let him in. Tony went back to his previous spot, which was in front of the mirror inspecting his chest. He was using the step ladder to help him get a good view.

"Everything alright?" Harry asked.

"My chest...bothers me," Tony replied.

Harry frowned before his eyes widened. He didn't know why he didn't think of it before. _Iron Man_ was powered and _Tony_ was kept alive by the Arc Reactor! Looking at the six year old's chest he didn't see anything there.

Panic weld up in the wizard. Had Loki's spell removed the Arc Reactor and whatever it was that was hurting Tony? What will happen when they return to their normal ages?

Masking his own fears to not alarm the young genius, Harry walked over to him and said, "Let me take a look."

Tony didn't refuse and Harry was grateful. Whatever this may mean, he didn't need anything else to complicate matters. Harry let his magic wash over Tony. Since Tony was human and a muggle his magic had no trouble running a diagnosis on him.

Good news?

The Arc Reactor was still there. It was just being masked with glamour magic. The spell reverted them all to how they were in their child forms, but with Tony's condition being as permanent as Steve's super soldier serum, Tony's Arc Reactor was still there.

Bad news?

He hoped that since his test on Thor was inconclusive since it was cut short there might be some hope that his magic could overpower this spell. Unfortunately his magic just ran through Tony and seemed to have done nothing. As far as his magic is concern, there is no dark magic to attack.

He mentally sighed. It looked like he had to think of another way to cure his friends.

"Well?" Tony asked.

"It doesn't hurt?" Harry asked in turn.

Shaking his head Tony said, "It...doesn't _hurt_ , but it's annoying me."

Harry 'hmm'ed', "It might be congestion in your lungs." the wizard lied with a plausible fib.

"I don't have a runny nose though," Tony countered.

"You don't have to have a runny nose to have congestion in your chest. That could be why it feels funny. How about I give you some medicine to make the feeling go away?" Harry asked he helped Tony step down from the ladder.

Tony cringe, "It's not the bubblegum flavored syrup is it?"

Harry chuckled, "No."

Tony sighed in relief, "Good. I hate that stuff. What kind of flavor is that anyway? Gum is supposed to be chewed, not swallowed. Yuck!" Tony said as he stuck out his tongue in distaste.

Harry just laughed and led Tony to his room. While Tony sat on the bed, his eyes followed Harry who grabbed his bag and searched through it. It was a simple duffel, mute in color. Didn't seem too old or that new. Though Tony couldn't see it the duffel was protected from tearing, fire, water, and was only able to be opened by Harry. He had developed somewhat of a nomadic lifestyle before arriving to New York and learned to carry his whole life in that bag, which in the end was disposable as well. It carried his clothes, toiletries, money, documentation, medical kit, and of course some of his magical items. Since he became Master of Death he doesn't have to worry about leaving his cloak of invisibility. Now that he accepted his role he can summon each of the items at will, no matter where he is.(He always kept the cloak. He thought he lost the stone, but when he was thinking of it one day, like the sorcerer's stone in his first year, it appeared in his pocket. He thought he broke the wand and threw it away. But like the stone while he was thinking about it one night, it returned to his possession as well. Completely restored and in working order.)

Taking out his medical kit that was stocked with muggle and magical supplies Harry takes out a small vial and hands it to Tony. The boy looks at it oddly before looking at Harry who nods. Tony gulps down the silver like liquid and is surprised.

"It doesn't taste like anything but...it's working," Tony said.

Harry raised an eye brow, "Is that so surprising?"

"Well...from what I've learned, the worse something taste the faster it'll heal you," Tony replied.

Harry took back the empty vial and ruffled Tony's hair, "Well maybe that's something you should consider when you take over your fathers business. Make medicine a good experience."

"I'm pretty sure that's call psychedelic drugs," Tony replied with a face.

Harry shook his head in amusement, "But they aren't always the answer to those who are really sick, now are they?"

Tony nodded as they entered the room and he went off to his own bed. Harry pulled the rocking chair up and placed it in a spot where everyone can hear and see him.

"Alright. Well...I did promise you guys a story if you still want to hear one," Harry said.

"Yes! I wish to hear the one about the dragons!" Thor claimed while the others nodded. Even Tony seemed to be interested.

"Hmm," Harry thought for a moment. "I could just tell you about it but...I could actually show you."

"How?" Natasha asked.

"There's an object that I can use that will make my memories seem to come to life," Harry said.

"Can you use it?" Clint asked.

Harry looked at them all. Thor wanted to hear the story of the time he fought a dragon. Though the young demigod will face horrible monsters in his future...maybe his trials in the Triwizard tournament aren't suited for children of their age.

"I'll have to ask one of the agents to bring it tomorrow. For now I can still show you pictures of the events," Harry said. "Accio Memory Book."

The kids looked towards the open door that Harry was pointing towards. After a few seconds a book flew in and landed on Harry's lap. There were gasp of awe and surprise all around.

Harry opened the book to the center which were blank white pages. "Alright. Well when I was fourteen there was this tournament in my school called the Triwizard Tournament." The book suddenly filled with ink and it began to lift off the page until it was almost looking into a television. It was an old man with long white hair, silver dress robes, and have moon spectacles. He exclaimed, " _Eternal glory! That's what awaits the student who wins The Triwizard Tournament, but to do this, that student must survive three tasks. Three extremely dangerous tasks._ "

"That was my headmaster, announcing the tournament. During the time though, a lot of dangerous things were happening. A very dark wizard still held a lot of powers and followers, even though he was believed to be gone. So the ministry, trying to keep as much control as possible decreed that only the students of legal age, which is 17, would be allowed to attend. Of course a lot of the students were angry because they wanted their shot at fame and glory."

All of their attention was on him and his words, Harry noted. He was pleased to have such story telling talents.

"So our headmaster drew an age circle around the Goblet of Fire," Harry continued the story and turned the page which showed the Goblet that was burning blue fire, surrounded by said circle. "My best friends twin brothers tried to cheat the system with an aging potion they concocted." The image tuned to Fred and George drinking their potion and then jumping into the circle while everyone around them cheered.

"Did it work?" Loki asked.

"The thing was...the headmaster himself made that circle. He wouldn't be a good headmaster if he couldn't do something as basic as a protection ward now would he. This is what happened," Harry said as he flipped the page. A magic pulse lunged Fred and George out of the circle and when they stood up they were old men! " _You_ said!" " _You_ said!"

The children all laughed at the twins expense.

"So fighting the dragons was one of the task of the tournament?" Bruce asked.

"Yup," Harry replied.

Natasha tilted her head to the side, "But if you were only fourteen then how did you get accepted? Because obviously you did , right?"

Harry sighed, "It's a story for another time but there are a lot of people who just don't like me. Be it my family, my choice of friends, or merely because I was born...there were people who wanted me dead. And what better way than a tournament who's rules were so ancient that the government itself couldn't control? The tournament isn't done just for fun. It a traditional practice who's magical rules must be enforced. They had darker sense of humor back then. So...anyone who entered _had_ to play. And there was no backing out. So someone who very much didn't like me placed my name in the Goblet.

"And I was forced to compete with these people." Harry turned the page and it showed each of them as he named them.

"Viktor Krum. He was taller, older, and so much stronger than I was. He might not have been the smartest but he had other people to think for him. He was from our brother school, Durmstrang Institute. An all boy school. Then from our sister, all girl school, Beauxbatons Academy of Magic came Fleur Delacour. She was _beautiful_...but she was just as much as a fairy princess as any of the dragons we had to face. She was swift and intelligent and knew how to read people and use that to her advantage to get what she wanted."

"Aren't all women like that?" Tony asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Um...no. There are some shy and awkward ones too," Harry replied. He guessed from everything he's heard from Tony and his father, they were used to gold diggers and fast women.

"Huh..." was Tony's reply.

"Whatever, continue your story!" Clint demanded.

"Alright. Now, from our school Cedric Diggory was the one who was originally chosen to be our champion. He was older than me and had taken much more complicated classes. He knew more advanced magic.

"The three champions were chosen and everyone cheered," Harry turned the page and they saw the flickering of the Goblet. It erupted in red fire and a piece of paper shot out. The headmaster caught it and read it aloud, _"Harry Potter.._."

"Knowing that I didn't bother to participate and knew I'd get in trouble..."Harry turned the page and it showed his 14 year old teenage self trying to duck into the crowd.

**_"HARRY POTTER!_ "** The headmaster yelled and a brown haired girl shoved him towards the stage. All the way there it was eerily quiet, but Harry was getting a lot of angry sneers.

"If you did not wish to participate, couldn't you merely have stated as such?" Loki asked.

Harry shook his head, "Like I said, it's ancient magic that so far no one knows how to break. I could have not participated but my teachers feared what would have happened if I didn't. But of course since I was underage and managed to get my named called out even though there already was a champion...well, people were jealous and thought I was an arrogant glory hog." Harry flipped the page and it showed them the button that was made to mock him.

"But it was not your will! Surely such injustice didn't last long?" Thor asked.

"Well...it did for a while. Heck, throughout the whole tournament. But after I should some talent in the tasks I did manage to win some people back to my side."

Harry decided to skip to the actual task at hand. "The first task was simple in theory. There was an golden egg that held a very important clue to the second task. The dragon would be protecting the egg and all we the champions had to do was retrieve it."

Harry flipped the page and showed each of the dragons that were there, "Viktor faced the Chinese Fireball, Fleur faced a Common Welsh Green, and Cedric faced a Swedish Short Snout."

There were more gasp and sounds of awe once more.

"And you? Which incredible beast did you encounter?" Thor asked, pupils huge from excitement.

"I faced..."Harry turned the page where the ink worked incredibly fast to make a frightening looking, spiky, angry looking huge dragon who spit out enormous amounts of fire, "The Hungarian Horn Tail."

"Wow...did you get hurt?" Steve asked, eyes just as wide.

"Well...a few burn marks. Couple of scrapes...but ultimately I did succeed. Otherwise I wouldn't be here telling you this story." Harry replied.

"So what happened next?" Clint asked, bouncing in his place with excitement.

"Well...when in situations like that it's always best to play to your strengths. Like I said, Viktor was strong, Fleur was swift, and Cedric knew a lot more magic." Harry said.

"What did you know?" Bruce asked.

"I..." Harry turned the page, "Knew how to fly."

The page showed how Harry called his Firebolt and used it to evade the dragon. It showed him flying around the grounds and around the school. Him crashing into the castle, trying to get back on his broom, nearly escaping being a toasted marshmallow, and then flying back towards the arena and claiming the golden egg. The scene ended with Harry's classmates lifting him up on their shoulders and cheering for him.

With a loud snap Harry shut the book close.

" _What_? That cannot be it! There were _three_ tasks!What of the other two? And who was the one who sought your demise? You claimed in the beginning of your tale that people were out to get you. Why? What exactly did you do? Was there some sort of battle? How did you win?" Thor asked in nearly one breath.

Harry shook his head, "A good story teller knows when to leave off. I promised dragons, nothing more."

"Ahh...but we want to know more!" Clint crossed his arms and pouted.

"If I keep the story going you'll never sleep. But how about this. For every night you're here, I'll promise to give you _one_ story. Now, everyone needs to go to sleep." Harry said.

"But I am not tired. I wish to hear more tales!" Thor declared.

"I know you would but you need your rest Thor. You'll regain any stamina you lost throughout the day and it's a fact that all children do their growing in their sleep. As you can see, I didn't sleep a lot at night so compared to a lot of adults, I'm short. So unless you want to be my height when you get to my age, off to sleep the lot of you." Harry said.

There were a lot of replies, some in agreement, others in reluctance but eventually everyone snuggled into their beds and under the covers. Harry smiled and went to the door. He turned to everyone and said, "Good night," and turned off the light.

He was about to close the door when a voice stopped him, "Um...Harry?"

"Yes Natasha?"

Natasha looked down as she fisted her covers. Harry walked over and sat at the edge of her bed and lifted her chin up with his fingers. Looking into her eyes he asked again, "Yes Natasha?"

"...It's too dark," she whispered.

Harry smiled at her and placed a gentle but firm hand on her shoulder, "It's nothing to be ashamed of Natasha. And don't worry about it okay."

Harry pointed to the ceiling and enchanted it the same way the ceiling of the Great Hall was enchanted. So instead of a boring plain ceiling, over their heads were thousands of stars, galaxies, and comets zooming by, "Dark enough so you can sleep, but light enough to not be scared. Is that alright?"

Natasha snuggled into her bed more and hugged her pillow as she nodded, "Thank you Harry."

"No problem. Anyone else need anything?" Harry asked.

There were soft no's, but also some snoring. Seems that Thor was more tired than he thought. He was already snoring away softly, he turned and as sprawled across the covers. Harry just chuckled and made his way to his room. As an extra step, he left their door ajar.

It was hours later that Harry's magic alerted him of something going on outside on the balcony. Quickly slipping into his shoes and summoning the Elder Wand, Harry went to investigate.

He sighed in relief when he saw that it was just Loki practicing magic outside. His back was turned to Harry and he seemed to be trying to levitate a book that was placed on the patio table. The book would rise a few inches but then fall back down. There was a grunt of displeasure from Loki.

"You're merely concentrating magic around the book, trying to control the magic, and making it lift the book?" Harry asked.

Loki was startled and looked down sheepishly.

"I apologize for disobeying your instructions on sleeping," Loki quickly said.

Harry waved a dismissing hand, "You aren't the first. And besides...doesn't look like you're doing anything dangerous. Mind if I help?" Harry asked.

"Um..do you really think you can help _me_?" Loki asked.

"Why wouldn't I?" Harry asked.

"Well...people usually prefer to teach my brother. He's much more of the warrior type," Loki answered.

Harry's recalled everything he's read about Norse Mythology and can understand what Loki was talking about. Asgardians favor strength and power. Thor as an adult was tall and broad. Adding in his courageous attitude and love of adventure...he was an ideal to work with in Asgardian terms. Loki was more lean and smaller, and probably enjoys being in a library rather than on the field.

"Well, in battle strength isn't all that matters, is it?" Harry asked as he took one of the seats.

"No...but it _really_ does matter," Loki said, taking the other chair.

"You like to read don't you Loki? Get as much information as you possibly can?" Harry asked.

"Yes. I usually spend a lot of my time in the palace's library," Loki replied.

"That's good. Your brother...he is first born, isn't he?" Harry asked and saw Loki immediately deflate.

"Yes...when he comes of age, _he_ will take the throne," Loki mumbled.

"Thor seems like a good kid, but he can be a little...rash. I'm sure he'll need you to keep him levelheaded. And not just that. If you ever need to go into battle, he'll definitely need you too," Harry said.

Loki's eyes widened, "Me? Whatever for?"

"Well...as far as I can tell, you can have all the power in any world, but it's all pointless if you don't have the knowledge in how to use it." Harry said.

Loki let Harry's words sink in and he finally nodded, "You don't believe that me being how I am is a problem?"

Harry shook his head, "Only if you let it be. You're smart Loki, and you're also clever."

"Isn't that the same thing?" Loki asked.

"Nope. There's a difference. Being smart means you have knowledge. Being clever means you know how to use that knowledge. And remember my story Loki. I was the youngest, weakest, and possibly the most naïve person in that tournament. Half the time I was confused as to what I was doing or what was happening to around me. I had to rely on my friends to help me through it all, just like I'm sure Thor will have to rely on you and his friends. _I_ couldn't win alone. Aside from their help I realized I couldn't ignore my weaknesses and had to play my strengths. I have mine and you have yours," Harry explained.

"And you believe I should use it to help my brother?" Loki asked.

Harry smiled, "You know...you and Thor remind me of Merlin and Arthur."

"Who?" Loki asked.

"Merlin is basically the original sorcerer. His achievements paved way for the rest of us. There are many versions of their tales but they all ultimately have a similar plot and the same key points.

"Arthur was born to be the one true future king! There was a magical sword lodge in a rock. Legend said that he who could pull the sword from the stone would be named king. Arthur was that person. In some versions of the story Arthur grew up in a humble beginning in poverty, and in others he was raised as a prince. Arthur was much like your brother. He sought respect and nobility. In the end he lead his people kindly as the benevolent king. There was prosperity in the kingdom when he was at the throne, but it wasn't always like that. In his teenage years he was cocky and stuck up. He confused nobility with arrogance. It caused him a bit but with Merlin there to guide him...he eventually became that benevolent king everyone adored and Merlin was there at his side through it all. As his guidance, his dependent, his confident, and as his good friend."

Loki took all of that in. "You really believe it can be like that?"

Harry nodded, "Thor already protects you with his life. As you get older I'm sure that will not change. There might be some sibling rivalry to come but I'm sure you can over pass it. I'm sure that together you two can lead Asgard to another rein of peace."

Loki smiled and stood up, "I suppose I should do everything in my power to help my brother. That includes getting taller and that includes getting some sleep, doesn't it?"

Harry smiled too, "Yes. Yes it does. And if you still want, tomorrow you can I can have a magic lesson."

"Really?" Loki asked surprised. He thought the sorcerer was merely joking.

"Of course. I'm magic, you're magic. I'm sure there are somethings we can learn from one another."

"My brother is right. You are very strange," Loki commented.

Harry raised and eye brow, "Is that a bad thing?"

Loki quickly shook his head and smiled up at Harry, "No. Not a bad thing at all!"

Harry smiled too, "Alright well off to bed. I'll see you in the morning alright?"

"Yes sir," Loki said as he went to his room.

"Night Loki," Harry called after him as he closed the balcony door.

"Good Night Harry."


	5. Attention Crisis and Flying Lessons

In retrospect, Harry should have realized that sooner or later taking care of a group of powerful little kids was going to be a problem. For the most part, each of them were easy to understand and handle on their own. Harry thought it was something to do with them _actually_ being adults.

Unfortunately at the moment they are children and some childish habits just can't be eliminated. (More so in Tony and Clint who even as adults acted like children he's been told.)

The next morning he made them all eggs and sausages. Thor and Steve seemed to wolf the food down while Clint was trying to do the same and keep up with their inhuman appetites while Natasha, Loki, and Bruce ate at a more relaxed pace. Harry that morning also learned that Tony was going to make it difficult in his eating habits. That should have been clue number one that the day was going to go wary.

Agent Hill had commented that Pepper(Tony's assistant who was being kept in the dark about this) wrote down some notes and gave to an agent Coulson before his passing. They were notes on Tony. Apparently being a genius came with some quirks. Like being so engrossed by a problem, experiment, or project that other things get pushes away and filed as "not important". Two of those things included sleeping and eating.

Even though Tony was a kid, he was still Tony.

So Harry tried his best to convince the young genius to eat something. Just one egg and one sausage. But the genius pouted and claimed he didn't like it.

Harry offered to make him scrambled eggs if he didn't like sunny side up. Tony had nodded but when the plate was placed in front of him, he made a face and pushed the plate away. Harry then toasted some bread and put some butter and different flavored jams in front of Tony to choose from. Tony of course made a mess of combinations but didn't eat any of them.

Harry actually thanked Merlin for Steve's, Thor's, and Bruce's huge appetites because they were eating everything that was made for Tony, but that the genius dismissed.

Harry slumped on a chair and closed his eyes and tried to think. He thought back to Ron. He was an eating machine and wasn't picky. Then he thought about the Weasley's in general. Some of the boys were like their brother Ron. Ginny being a girl was more controlled and didn't eat as much as her brother but she still had an healthy appetite being used to Molly's home cooked meals.

Even if times were rough for the Weasleys there were some things that were never missing in their home. Love, clothing, shelter, security, and of course food.

He remembered when he and Hermione would visit and that's when it struck him.

Hermione was an only child, she was incredibly intelligent, and at breakfast would do with a simple bowl of cereal.

He was going to pour it in himself when he remembered who he was dealing with and placed the options in front of Tony himself and a small-medium sized bowl. Tony had a thinking face before he chose Cocoa Puffs and poured them in with some milk.

Smiling contently as he picked up the spoon and ate his breakfast happily. Harry could just roll his eyes.

After breakfast he told the kids to go play or do what they wanted. He reminded them of their talk before pulling Loki aside.

Like he promised he was going to spend some time with Loki and help him with some magic. This...this is where "Boys will be boys" phrase can be used.

Out in the balcony patio Harry had summoned one of his books from his bookshop. It was his first year book of spells. He explained to Loki what kind of magic he was. Or tried to. He long ago accepted that he was more of a man of action, not of words.

"I have a magical core which makes me different than most mortals. There is also power in words and Latin being a very old and powerful language. The spells that we use are basically sentences in that language. For example in Latin the word for fire is Incendio. A mortal saying that, nothing will happen. But if I tap into my magic that I can feel and say the word, this happens... _Incendio_." using wandless magic was easy for him now so he placed his arm out in front of him and Loki and held is palm up and a flame appeared over his hand.

"Amazing! Can I learn to do that?" Loki asked with a huge grin on his face.

"I believe so. First I want you to concentrate and-" but Harry was cut off by Tony who came running towards him.

"Harry! Harry! Harry!"

"What's the matter Tony? Everything alright?" Harry asked immediately, hoping nothing was wrong.

"I made this for you! I want you to look over it and tell me what you think," Tony said.

Harry looked at the paper the young genius gave him and analyzed the picture. From what Harry could tell it was a machine with different wires hooked up to it and actual equations written in the margins.

"Um...I don't mean to insult your artistic vision Tony, but...what is it?" Harry asked confused.

"It's a breakfast machine, duh! I thought it would help. See this here? It's a scanner that will scan the tongue and analyze the taste buds. Then on the monitor it will tell you exactly what's ideal to make for that person. So? What do you think?" Tony asked with excitement in his eyes.

"Wow...I think that's amazing. All these mathematical equations mean it's possible for you to build this right?" Harry asked already guessing the answer.

"Obviously. I think all the equipment is down in the lab. I can probably have it finished by tomorrow's breakfast," Tony said with a smile.

"That's great Tony. I'll tell one of the agents to go down to the lab with you. You can invite Bruce too, if you like," Harry offered as he stood up to speak with one of the agents. He turned to Loki and said, "I'll be right back."

Loki nodded but Tony frowned, crossed his arms, and shook his head, "No. I want _you_ to come to the lab with me."

"I'm sorry Tony, but right now I'm spending time with Loki. And besides, I'm not a genius. I'll probably get in your way," Harry replied.

Tony shook his head once more, "You don't have to be a genius. We can talk about whatever while I work. I'm good at multitasking."

Harry smiled at Tony and asked, "If you really want me to be there, can't it wait for a little while?"

"No! I want to work on it now! That way it'll be done by morning and things will be easier for you," Tony answered.

"Then one of the agents can go in my place Tony," Harry answered.

"But _Haaaaarrrryyyy_! They're _boring_! Besides I'm more important than reindeer games over there!" Tony pouted as he pointed at Loki who glared at the young genius. Tony in turn stuck his tongue out.

"Anthony Stark! There will be no name calling or face making. Everyone here is just as important as anyone, understand?" at Tony near heartbroken look Harry sighed and knelt at his eye level and said softly, "Tony, bud, I have to watch over seven of you. I know you're probably used to being an only child and not having to share attention but I can't be unfair. I have to treat everyone the same and give you all equal amounts of time. I promise you I will spend equal amount of time with you if that's what you want."

"But I want to have this finished by tomorrow so you don't have to struggle like today...this was an I'm sorry present," Tony mumbled.

"And I love it. Later I'm sure Bruce will love to help you and work in the lab. Together I'm sure you can finished before bed time," Harry replied optimistically.

"But what if we can't?" Tony was near tears with this, thinking he wouldn't be able to finish his apology present. He saw how tired and wary he made Harry this morning, he didn't want to do it, he just wasn't used to eating like that. But Harry understood him and if Harry wanted him to eat then it must be important. It was just that some of the food looked okay and some didn't. Some just didn't smell right to him and others just looked boring. Usually he didn't care when his nanny's had to deal with this but Harry was different and he didn't want to see that tired look on the older man again. And he especially didn't want to know he was the cause of that look.

"Then I'll have to try my best in guessing you're breakfast of choice," Harry replied with a smile.

"But-"

"I don't mind Tony. It'll refine my rusty cooking skills. Don't worry about it. Now...please wait a little while?"

"Fine...the designs could use a little more work anyway." Tony huffed and walked back inside.

Harry sighed but mental gave thanks that Tony didn't make things difficult. He turned back to Loki and tried again.

"Alright. I want you to tap into your magic and feel it. Can you do that?" Harry asked.

Loki closed his eyes and concentrated. Being very close to the young trickster Harry could feel as he accumulated magic.

"Like that?" Loki asked.

"Yeah that's great. Now-"

"Harry! Harry!" Clint came over and grasped Harry's arm.

"What is it Clint?" Harry asked.

"I reached a new level in the video game! I need to defeat the boss but I can't. I already tried twice! _Twice_! I need you to do it for me," Clint nearly begged with what Harry could only describe as a puppy look.

"Um...Clint? Can it wait? Please? Just a half hour. I promise to help you," Harry offered.

"Awe...but I wanna defeat the boss _now_!" Clint whined.

"Maybe you can ask one of the others? Natasha maybe? I bet she'll be able to help," Harry said.

"She's a girl Harry. She doesn't _do_ video games," Clint pouted.

"Now that's not really fair. Just because she's a girl doesn't mean anything," Harry said.

"Well I tried askin' cuz she was right there with Steve but he had no idea how to use the control and she just turned her back on me and went back to her drawings!" Clint whined.

"Well I can't say I'm any good at video games either...but I'm sure either Tony or Bruce will be. Have you tried asking them?" Harry asked.

"No..." Clint answered.

"Then go and try. Please?" Harry asked.

"If I do that do you promise to treat us to another story at bed time?" Clint asked carefully.

Harry smiled a bit and said, "Sure. Now go play."

"Okay! Thor! I got him to promise another story!" Clint said running off to the blonde demigod.

Harry rolled his eyes and this time magically closed off the patio. He made a promise to spend some time with Loki and help him out, and he was one to keep his word.

The lesson continued with Loki have some trouble conjuring some magic. He was able to tap his resources and there was nothing wrong with his pronunciations.

"What am I doing wrong?" Loki asked.

Harry thought for a moment and thought back to when he was a child and first learning magic. The difference now and then was that he used to use a wand to do magic. Maybe that was it? Magic was too wild and surrounded the magic user completely. In order to be cast the wand helped because it helped the magic focus on one point of execution.

"Hold on," Harry stood up and went to his room. He was stopped a few times by Bruce who wanted to know when lunch was going to be. Harry promised soon. He was stopped by Tony who demanded to know when they were going to work on the machine. Harry reminded them of their talk and encouraged him to go help Clint who he could hear saying bad words to the screen because he couldn't get passed some obstacle. And lastly on his way back he was stopped by Natasha who claimed that she was bored.

Harry had to really think about what he could tell Natasha. Being a girl made things seriously different. Video games and robots could easily distract any little boy, but not little girls, and he didn't even know what to give Natasha. He tried to remember everything he could about her but really all he knew was that she was a seriously good spy. Experienced in many forms of martial arts, languages, and other underhanded things that the child in front of him really shouldn't be doing.

She has stopped him while making his way to the patio and so he had the perfect view to see the others. From where he stood Thor was mesmerized by the television while Tony helped Clint get passed something while Clint and Thor yelled out warnings and strategies. Bruce was looking between what looked like a science book and Tony's design for the breakfast machine. Looking for Steve Harry found him looking out the window, a bit put off and perhaps a little scared.

So far the kids were thrown into this somewhat daycare, and even though he could completely distract some of them with technology and games and magic, Harry realized it would only work for some time. Eventually these kids will catch up with their version of reality. They'd wonder about their homes, about their families, and for those like Steve, wonder about the strange place that he's been placed in.

"Well?" Natasha asked impatiently.

His eyes settled on a Frisbee and an idea popped in his mind.

"How would you like to play Frisbee?" Harry asked.

"Frisbee?" Natasha echoed and tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Yeah. It's a game of throwing with just the right amount of strength and distance. And takes a great player to catch it," Harry explained.

"Yeah! I'd like to play," Natasha agreed.

"Alright. There's a Frisbee in the toy chest. Oh and Natasha?"

"Yeah?"

"Go invite Steve to play. I'm sure you'll find him...a good opponent." Natasha smiled and went off to the blonde and asked if he wanted to play with her. Steve smiled and nodded. Harry passed one of the agents and told them to take them to a training floor where they could have enough room to play happily.

Harry knew that they'd be good training/playing buddies. Thought Clint and Natasha had more of a history together, right now he was nothing more than a typical little boy and right now little girls aren't on his mind. Steve was polite and strong and would give Natasha a good match while fueling Natasha to do her best to beat Captain America's kid form at Frisbee...maybe it was a little unfair, but from what he gathered on the redhead in the short time in their adulthood, she liked being challenged and she especially liked beating said challenge.

Harry returned to Loki and offered him his wand. Not the elder wand but his new one he had gotten after the battle of Hogwarts. His being broken in the war and him thinking he ha destroyed the Elder wand, he needed a new wand while he mastered wandless magic. He'd gotten a new one from Olivander but never really used it. He allowed Loki to use it and it worked. They practice simple spells like levitation, and unlocking locks, and other spells from his first year spell book.

Once it reached noon he told Loki that it was about time for lunch and that they'd have another lesson some other time. Loki was very happy that the sorcerer had kept his word and trusted that he would keep it again. He gathered Bruce and asked him to ask one of the agents to bring Natasha and Steve back up from their game of Frisbee. He told Tony and Clint to meet in the kitchen.

Their reply was: "In a minute! Shoot it shoot it!" "I am! What's it look like I'm doing! We'll be right there Harry!"

Harry rolled his eyes and went in search of the blonde demigod. He found him in the bedroom on his bed fiddling with the book Harry had used the previous night but since he wasn't magic it was blank. Still it seemed like it wasn't of importance to the demigod. He seemed crestfallen and depressed.

"Thor?"

"Aye?" he whispered.

"It's time for lunch," Harry announced. The demigod didn't fuss or brightened like he usually did when there was food involved and suddenly Harry was worried.

Lunch was much less of a hassle than breakfast. Keeping it simple Harry made spaghetti and meatballs. They all ate thankfully. Clint and Tony discussing how to beat the game they were playing and getting Bruce to join them. Natasha and Steve commenting about their game and how they should continue after lunch. Natasha was more than happy even though the mini-Cap had won whatever little game they decided to play.

Harry had allowed Loki to keep the spell book and allowed him to have it at the table and he was reading it while taking small bites from his plate.

From the head of the table Harry couldn't help but frown. Thor wasn't eating, merely picking at his food. When he saw that most of them had eaten a good enough amount he dismissed them and quickly they all went to what they had been doing before.

Thor just stood and returned to the bedroom. Harry followed him and knocked quietly on the door.

"Thor? Everything okay?" Harry asked.

"I am fine sorcerer," Thor replied. He was sitting on the bed hugging his knees to his chest.

"You seemed a little down at lunch. You hardly ate. Usually your appetite is bigger than this. You aren't falling ill are you?" Harry asked with concern.

"Ney. At the very least...not any physical ailment," Thor replied.

"Are you feeling sick?" Harry asked.

"Not exactly...I just feel...saddened," Thor replied.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"While I watched you interact with my brother and trying to keep the others from distracting you from his learning I...I couldn't help but make comparisons. Back home I look so much like our mother and participated in anything my father allowed, and while out there you two seemed so alike. Pale, dark haired, magic...I am pleased my brother has found a mentor such as ye, but...I miss my parents. I miss the halls of Asgard. I miss my own sleeping chambers that held my belongings...I apologize...such childish nonsense I ramble on about," Thor said quietly.

Harry smiled and came to sit on the bed with Thor, "It's completely fine Thor. You are just a child anyway. And it seems you are sick."

"I am?" Thor asked confused.

"Yeah. You're home sick. You miss home," Harry answered.

"Aye," Thor mumbled.

"I know it's hard being away from home, and I promise I'll find a way to send you and your brother safely home," Harry promised.

"I thank thee sorcerer. Would ye be as kind as to not mention this to Loki? I do not wish for him to obtain the sickness of home as well," Thor said as he looked up at Harry with big pleading blue eyes.

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me," Harry said.

They were quiet for a moment. Harry having Thor in an one arm hug and Thor leaning into the parental touch. After a while Thor couldn't keep quiet and asked a question.

"Ye speak differently from the other mortals in this place. This is not your home either, is it sorcerer?"

"No...it's not." Harry answered.

"Is your home as far away as mine?"

Harry thought about it and answered,"Yeah it is." maybe Hogwarts was closer than Asgard literally but metaphorically it could have been light years away. The Hogwarts he cherished and remembered was the one of simpler times. The one that held that child like wonder when he first realized that magic was real and that he himself was magic. As the years passed and the battles with Voldemort continued, slowly his vision of his home was changed. It was no longer safe, no longer an escape, and then it couldn't even be his home. They rebuilt and he had celebrated but only because the defeat of someone as evil as Voldemort is something that needs to be celebrated. But as he ventured through the halls one last time...it wasn't the same.

Too many people he had known as a kid were either dead, had left the world of magic for their own safety, or the war had forced them to change. And not for the better. They could rebuilt it and it would be like new, but it wouldn't be what he had first loved.

"Would you tell me about it?"

"Well...the place I considered home was my school," Harry replied cautiously. Not wanting to let the sorrows of war be known by the impressionable demigod.

"Your school? What about your home with family? Have ye not brothers or sisters?" Thor asked innocently.

Harry shook his head, "Not by blood, no. I was an only child and my parents died soon after I was born. Well okay I did have family by blood but they didn't like me very much. But over the years in my school I obtained brothers and sister by bond."

"How could your kin not like ye? Ye are the most exceptional elder I have ever encountered."

"Well...it's a complicated story, but basically the only relatives I had left after my parents died were mortal. They feared and didn't understand the magic I could do and therefore treated me as I were beneath them." Harry said.

"If they did not like magic, was your school not magical then?" Thor asked.

"Nope. The school my parents went to accepted me but the age to begin there is eleven. When I found out I was magic...it was the best moment in my life," Harry replied with a smile.

Thor smiled back, "What was it like?" he had always know what he was. For his heritage to be kept a secret is unfathomed to him.

"Well...my aunt and uncle weren't nice to me like I said. A small closet underneath the stairs was my room for those elevenish years of my life. They had one son and he was spoiled. They allowed him to do whatever he wished to me. I was harassed and bullied by him for a _very_ long time. I was to cook and clean for them and in school, before I went to magical school, I wasn't allowed to fail, but I also wasn't allowed to do better than my cousin," Harry said and was mainly paying attention to Thor that he didn't notice as the others slowly made their way into the dimly lit room.

"That sound highly unpleasant," Thor said. He had some trouble with his studies as it were. He had to try very hard to meet his parents expectations. A lot of the time he had no shame in going to his brother for assistance so his father wouldn't think of him as stupid. To have to be careful not to fail but not do better than someone else...it would take a great mind.

"It was...but then I was accepted into Hogwarts. When I was picked up by my friend Hagrid," Harry smiled at the memory, "He gave me my first present ever. It was a birthday cake...it was squished and sloppy and simple...but it was the best present I've ever gotten. And then he gave my cousin a pigs tail," Harry said with a chuckle and Thor joined him.

"Hogwarts was amazing. It was a castle shrouded by magic so only those with magic could see it. It was a sight to see. It was massive! It was like a story right out of a fairy tale. The dorms were comfortable and grand and made you feel like you belonged and it was impossible not to find a friend. There were people from all over with different interest. There were students who had family history to the early days of magic to first generation born witches and wizards. The Great Hall where we ate was incredible. They sort of mimicked the great feast we heard from tales of Asgard."

"Really?" Thor asked excitedly.

"Yes. There were four houses, and each had a long beautiful table with gold and silver wear. And when it was time to eat the headmaster would wave his hands and a feast would appear on each table. There would be hundreds of candles floating about and the ceiling was enchanted to be the same as the weather outside. During the holidays there would be the impression that we were eating while it snowed. Of course we were spared the cold and wetness."

"What else!"

"The classrooms would be perfect for what they taught. Be it transfiguration, potions, defense against the dark arts...Hogwarts was properly stocked. It almost seemed like it was alive. It was the home of many wonderful and not so wonderful people for a very long time so it knew what it needed. There were secret passages to help you sneak out at night if you knew where to look and who to ask. Oh and the staircases moved! That was both fun and annoying. It was fun experiencing something I thought was once impossible but annoying when I was late and had to find a completely new route to get to class. There was herbology outside with all the oddest plants I've never heard of. The animals we had to learn about for 'Care of Magical Creatures'. Then of course there was the Forbidden Forrest filled with more creatures and animals you never want to face alone or in the dark. Moody centaurs, giants, werewolves, and maybe a disgruntled unicorn. My favorite place of Hogwarts was probably the Quidditch pitch though."

"Quidditch?" Thor echoed.

"It's a sport. It involves flying. When it came to my classes I did alright but I wasn't the smartest. If ever I felt untouchable it was when I'm in the air. I feel like...like no one could ever get me...like I was safe," Harry whispered the last part, mostly to himself.

"Your parents...were they attacked by that bad man you mentioned yester-night? How long ago was this? Do you still miss them?" Thor asked quietly.

Harry looked away and Thor was about to apologize when Harry answered, "Yes."

"If you do not wish to speak of it I understand. I was merely curious," Thor said.

"There was a man...he was intelligent and grew to be powerful, but he was hateful. He was orphaned and hated the mortal children and adults that raised him in the orphanage. When he realized he had power he wanted to make the people who he thought hurt him, hurt in return. As he reached adulthood his ideals were known. He believed that only those with long magical history should wield magic...he thought that those who didn't have magic or who were the first in their families to have it, should be slaves to those who he considered pure bloods. It was a horrible thought but there were those you believed strongly in what he declared."

"I cannot imagine it ending well," Thor said.

"It didn't. He caused a rein of fear and panic. He became so evil that people were afraid to speak his name," Harry said.

"How did that involve you?"

"Well...he thought that he would one day make his dreams come true. Rule the world and make it his vision. Then there was a prophecy. That there would be someone born who could stop him. He went after this prophecy and found out who it was and learned that they hadn't even been born. My mother was pregnant with me while she and my father went into hiding...it turned out to be a friend who betrayed them and the bad man found our house. I was one year old.

"My father tried holding them off to give my mother enough time to escape with me. But he was killed, my mother was cornered in my nursery. She was given a chance to flee, the bad man merely wanted me. But there was no way she was going to surrender he son to evil like that. She loved me so much that she stood in Death's way in a final and most likely futile attempted to protect me. But she did. She was killed in front of me...and even though I was too young to fully remember, I had seen death at that age."

"Your parents are most courageous. I am sure they have a rightful place in Valhalla." Thor offered with a smile. Then his face became expressionless as he asked, "You are alive...what happened?"

"My mothers love for me, her fearless dedication to protect me even under those circumstances caused an ancient and powerful magic to wash over me. My mothers undying and fearless love made it so evil couldn't bare to be near me or touch me. It kept me safe until I became an adolescent."

They became quiet because it seemed like they were own lost in their own thoughts. When Clint sneezed it brought Harry out of his and he saw the rest of the kids scramble away.

Harry then stood up and smiled at Thor, "I have an idea that I think will cheer you up."

"What?"

"How would you like to fly?" Harry asked knowing that sooner or later the demigod will wield his magic hammer and be able to fly. He will take to flying like a duck to water or...how he took to flying. Thor's smile was a million watts as he followed Harry to his room. Harry produced his Firebolt and headed towards the patio with the rest of the children in tow.

He straddled the broom and helped Thor on in front of him. He turned to the rest, "Anyone who wants a turn can get a turn. Ready Thor?"

"Yes!"

And in a split second they were flying at impossible heights at tops speed. Thor's smile couldn't be bigger or his laughter louder. They were both born to be in the sky. From the patio below the rest of them were cheering in excitement and their turn.


	6. Trouble, Tea, and Teddy

Like he promised, Harry gave each of them a turn on his Firebolt. For people like Thor and Tony, he went at full speed. Others like Bruce and Steve he went a bit slower, almost just gliding in the sky. They each got a turn though.

With the excitement of flying by were all tuckered out far sooner than Harry expected and fell asleep much faster. Harry was grateful.

They were great kids, but keeping them entertained and out of trouble, from fighting with one another, answering all the questions they never seem to run out of, trying to find the problem to the spell, how to fix it, making sure that nothing is wrong with them, keeping the Hulk in check, and still reporting to Fury...Harry needed no help falling to sleep. The moment his body made contact with the bed, he was passed out.

The next morning things went a little bit more smoothly.

Well, breakfast did.

Since pancakes were very successful the first night there Harry decided to make them again. Like the first time everyone made a mess of their creations but they ate. That was all Harry wanted.

After they ate everyone wanted so spend some time with Harry but he told them that this morning he needed to handle some boring grown up paper work. They all pouted but with Harry's promise to spend some time with them, a story at bed time with the magical book, and one spin on the Firebolt before dinner, they all went to play.

He wasn't lying about doing paper work. He owned the book shop in New York which had it's costumers despite how small it was. With all of the alien attacks Harry needed to make calls and write letters to his lawyers and insurance agents. Explaining the situation of his store, its status, and all that. Aside from that he was mailed by Kingsley asking about what happened. His old friend, now Minister of Magic, wasn't surprised that he was somehow involved. He wanted details and information. About the situation, the people involved, and of course his status and health. That also meant he had to write to Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and Hermione to reassure them that he was okay. He was tired. Very much so. He's been using too much magic lately and hasn't taken a proper rest since the battle against the Chitauri.

He was in the middle of summoning an owl to send the letters off when he heard the first thing to warn him of today's troubles.

"RAAAAAWR!"

Harry's head instantly snapped up and he ran into the playroom. Dear Merlin how he wished he was having a nightmare.

Natasha came running to him, "We were all playing when Tony and Clint started to argue. Then Loki joined in. Steve and Thor tried to make everyone calm down and cool off but then a lot of mean things started to be said. Then there was yelling and then...this!"

In front of him? Bruce had Hulked out. He had turned into the Hulk and was smashing everything in sight as well as throwing things randomly. One of those things had been Tony.

Holding his hand out Harry yelled, " _ **Aresto Momemtum!"**_

Tony stopped in the middle of the air, his eyes widened and hair disheveled.

"Thor. Catch Tony," Harry ordered. The demigod listened and caught the young genius as Harry let the spell go.

"Right. All of you, go into my room and close the door. Don't come out until I tell you," Harry ordered.

"But Harry-" Tony started to protest.

"Do _not_ argue with me right now. All of you! To my room!" Harry barked as the mini Hulk looked ready to charge.

Natasha took Clint's hand and led him that way while Thor grabbed both Loki and Tony's hand and followed after those two. As Harry watched to make sure they were in there he didn't see as the Hulk charged at him. Something was thrown at the Hulk though which caused him to stop and glare at Steve who had thrown the Frisbee at the Hulk to get his attention.

"Sorry!" Steve yelled at the Hulk, knowing it was Bruce.

But the Hulk didn't seem to care much as he instead charged at Steve. Unfortunately Steve was in the corner and had no means of escape. Blue eyes widened in fear. There was a 'pop' sound as Harry apparated to Steve and then again into his room.

Steve faltered a bit and clutched to his stomach.

"Sorry about that. I know it's a rubbish feeling but I had to. Now, all of you stay here until I get things under control. No matter what _Do_. _Not_. _Leave_ this room." and Harry apparated towards the Hulk again.

"We have to do something!" Tony insisted to the rest of the room.

"Feeling guilty since it was all your fault?" Loki glared at Tony.

"Oh please! It's all your fault for being an idiot!" Tony yelled.

"Take care of how you speak to my brother. I do not wish to anger the sorcerer but I will not let you harm my brother, and I doubt the sorcerer will too," Thor warned.

"Tony's right though. It was you who started the yelling and arguing. You're the one who upset Bruce and made him go all monster," Clint said as he crossed his arms and glared at Loki.

"Look, right now it doesn't matter who started what. Harry's out there all by himself against Bruce." Steve said.

"That's not Bruce. At least...not really," Natasha said as she tried to look through the keyhole.

"What can we do?" Clint asks.

"Harry said to wait in his room. He was very serious about it," Loki said.

"Harry did say that and he's really powerful," Steve added.

"But you saw what that thing did! It broke through the wall like it was nothing! Even Thor who lifted the sofa yesterday had a hard time keeping him down!" Tony protested. "Harry needs help!"

"Again, what can _we_ do?" Clint repeated.

"We can't know what to do until we know the situation," Tony said and tried to open the door but it was locked.

"It's locked. Shouldn't we be able to open it since we're on the inside?" Clint asked.

"Harry didn't want us out there. I guess he used magic to keep us in here," Steve said.

There was a scream coming from outside and a lot more breaking.

"We need to help Harry. He'll die if we don't!" Natasha cried.

All of the boys tensed and paled at her words. Harry...dead? No way! He was the most awesome adult they've ever met!

"How? The door won't open!" Tony yelled as he tried to force the door to open.

"Move aside. Perhaps I can," Thor said and tried but he didn't have any luck.

"You can't open the door without unlocking it," Loki said in a calm voice.

"And _how_ do we do that exactly?" Tony asked, obviously irritated.

"Oh move aside," Loki said and pulled out the wand Harry let him use, "Alohomora."

There was a click and the door opened ajar.

"Alohomora?" Tony asked a bit sarcastically.

"Standard Book of Spells chapter 7. Harry let me borrow it," Loki answered in a huff.

"Well, come on!" Clint snapped as he exited Harry's room. Outside of the room looked like a tornado had passed through, left, came back, and brought some other tornado friends.

"Where are they now?" Steve asked.

"I don't hear anything so they aren't close," Natasha said.

"They must have moved to lower parts of the tower," Tony said running towards the elevator.

"Shouldn't the agents be stationed here?" Natasha asked.

"I think the beast was a bit more worrisome than making sure we don't go running around with scissors," Loki replied.

"Let us not worry about that and count it as a blessing. One less obstacle we have to handle. Let us find the sorcerer and aid him any way we can," Thor said. The rest nodded and got into the elevator.

"Uh...which floor are we going to again?" Clint asked.

"Hm...let me see," Tony removed the case of the panel and tinkered with it. The elevator then began to move. Tony put everything the way it was and smirked. "It was easy enough. This elevator is a bit more advance but it wasn't hard to figure out how it works. It's far too easy to see which floor was the last one they clicked on. Which is where it's taking us."

"Nice," Clint said and they fist bumped.

Soon the elevator took them to the floor where the Hulk was making a havoc of. There were some agents carrying away other agents who were passed out. The main focus was Harry trying to calm the Hulk down without going into the offensive.

While Harry was trying to use his magic to calm the Hulk and hopefully have him shrink back down to Bruce, he wasn't paying attention to his surrounding. A part of the ceiling that the Hulk seemed to used a monkey bars was falling down. Thor ran as fast as he could and use his strength to push himself with all his might to move Harry away just in time.

The rubble fell just inches away from them, causing them to cough because of the dust.

"What," a little coughing fit, "what are you doing here? I told you to stay in my room. How did you get out?" Harry demanded.

Clint and Tony immediately pointed at Loki.

"Get back into the elevator and go upstairs!" Harry ordered.

"We are _not_ leaving you alone!" Tony declared.

"I'm not asking, I am ordering you!" Harry hissed back.

"We can help!" Clint insisted.

"No!" Harry yelled.

"RAWR!"

The Hulk tackled Harry and they went flying. They landed with the Hulk on top of Harry and was about to punch him when Harry apparated next to the kids. Thor ran to them and when he reached the group he gasped.

"Sorcerer! Your head, tis bleeding!"

Harry wiped at where it hurt and shook his head. He was a little dizzy, "I'm fine. You lot need to get back upstairs."

"No way! The agents here are useless and Bruce's alter ego is too strong. Even for you!" Tony stared at Harry with a fierce look of determination.

Harry sighed, "I can handle this Tony. And I was the one who sent the agents away. There isn't anything they can do without hurting the Hulk and that's not going to help. And there isn't anything you lot can do either."

"But-" they started to protest.

" _Please_! If I can ask you of anything, I am asking you to _trust_ me. Do you all trust me?" Harry asked looking at all of them. They nodded immediately. "Good. Then trust me when I say I got this. I just need to get through to the Hulk. He's just scared and upset."

" _Upset!_ He's completely blown his lid!" Tony cried.

"Be that as it may, he's still Bruce and Bruce is scared and needs help," Harry looks at all of them and deadpans, "You aren't leaving no matter what I say, are you?"

They all shook their heads. Harry sighed, "Stay on the other side of the room and use the table as some line of defense. And we will have a proper talk when this is done!"

Harry went back to the mini Hulk and tried his best to use his magic to calm the Hulk. The problem was that his magic reserves were reaching their limit. Soon he'll be tapping into his magical core. Not that he's never been forced into the wall and not done it before, it was just that when he did so it always left him very drain. If he taps into his reserves and taking into account all of the exhaustion and wariness from the last few days and battle with aliens, Harry won't know how long he'll be asleep. He doesn't want to think too much about it but with him out of commission that means the children will be sent somewhere else. Most likely labs where they'll be hooked up to machines and monitors. The idea didn't sit well at all with the wizard.

"WATCH OUT!" one of the kids yelled and Harry dodged a chair being thrown at him.

Using what was left of his magic he used it to wash it over the Hulk and then he tapped into his core and used a bit of Legilimency to reach Bruce. He could literally feel his energy leave him and he's damn ready to pass out. But he doesn't, he does however break through to the Hulk. The Hulk seems immobilized and suddenly he's shrinking back into Bruce.

Panting, Harry walks over to an unconscious Bruce and picks him up. Concentrating very hard on each step so he doesn't tumble over, Harry makes it to the elevator with some difficulty. He looks over to the group of kids and motions with his head, "Come on."

They tentivally walk over and join Harry in the elevator. The ride up is quiet. Harry leads them to the room and gently places Bruce in his bed and tucks him in. As he steps away he stumbles and falls.

There are multiple cries of, "HARRY!"

" _Shhh_!" he hisses as he stands. "Now, all of you." Harry closes his eyes and tries to force away the coming headache, " _Please_...I don't care what time it is. I don't care if you're tired or not. I don't care if you have to pee. Just... _please_ , take a nap. I want it quiet. An hour. That's all I ask for. One hour."

Harry doesn't bother to look if they obeyed or not, he leaves the room, stumbling every other step.

When Harry saw the table he dropped into the chair. He saw his letters idly sitting there. Crumpled and a bit torn, but okay. He sighed and his body ached. He needed sleep badly but he hurt too much to sleep, and he had given his last pain remover potion to Tony.

"Here," came a small voice.

Harry forced his eyes to open and saw Natasha standing there with a tray of tea in her hands.

"I thought I told you to stay in your room," Harry said a bit mean, even to his ears.

Natasha shrugged and placed the tea set on the table and took a seat. She poured some tea into a cup for her and one for Harry. "You told us to take a nap. I wasn't tired. It also looked like you could use a cup of tea."

Harry sighed, "I thought I told you the first night here not to do anything dangerous. Using the stove is dangerous."

"Which is why I asked one of the agents to make it. I just brought it over. It's my way of doing things," Natasha said and Harry understood. _'It's my way of saying I'm sorry.'_

Harry took a whiff of his tea before sipping it. He sighed contently and then sent Natasha a small smile, "Sorry I snapped at you. You're right, I really needed a cup."

Natasha smiled back slightly, "It's okay. Tea is always good to calm the nerves. They only had Chamomile, so I hope that's okay."

"At this point, it's heaven," Harry answered.

Natasha shrugged, "It's okay, but I usually have different types of tea."

"Me too. Americans are too big on tea though. They prefer coffee." Harry said.

Natasha nodded and they went into a comfortable silence.

"Thank you again for this Natasha. It really did wonders for me. Maybe it's all in my mind, but tea time is always something that's meant to be relaxing."

"No problem. I like it too. I'm very used to it. Would it be okay if we did this every day while I'm here. I like your company," Natasha said.

Harry smiled and replied, "Of course. I'll even ask the agents to bring us a variation of tea."

"What did you do? You looked like you were dying," Natasha whispered, "Even now."

Harry sighed for what seemed the umpteenth time that day, "I just over did it with the magic, that's all. No need to worry. Another cup and I'll be as right as rain." Even though he offered a smile it didn't seem to work.

"It's more than just that. I can tell...I'm not sure how, but I can tell." Natasha said.

Harry looked at her and knew she wouldn't let the matter drop until she was properly informed. "My magic is like a person's energy. When I use it I have to sleep and eat to regain it. But these last few days I seemed to have been using it far too often without giving it a proper chance to regain it. I'm just tired, Natasha. I swear that's just it."

"Then you should go nap. I'll wake you up for dinner. If what you say is true then you need to eat. You _are_ a bit thin. Don't think I haven't noticed. You don't eat much either. _And_ you're skipping story time. Straight to bed after dinner," Natasha ordered.

Harry smiled at her, "I have things to do."

"They can wait. Your health is more important," Natasha insisted.

"The boys won't be too happy about not getting their story or their flying," Harry tried again, smile still in place.

"Tough. You won't be able to do those things if...if _anything_ , happens to you," Natasha said quietly.

"Natasha...I swear, I'll be fine. But if you insist, let me just mail these letter to my friends letting them know I'm okay and I'm off to bed, okay?"

"Right." Natasha nodded and they both stood up. Natasha was quickly at his side. Even though she was too small to really help him, the gesture was there.

When they reached Harry room something caught his attention. His bag that Hagrid had given him was glowing. Furrowing his brow Harry walked over and opened it. He pulled out his magical communicator mirror.

"Dad?"

"Teddy?" Harry asked into the mirror. Soon he saw his godson's face.

"DAD!" Teddy exclaimed. Then his features went from blue hair to messy black hair and his golden eyes turned green. Harry noted that some other smaller features chanced as well, like Teddy's ears, nose, and cheekbones. He looked like he was actually Harry's son.

"Is there something wrong Teddy?" Harry asked.

"I'm supposed to visit you for the summer remember? I'm at your book shop but it's empty and outside is horrible," Teddy said and then added, "Are you okay?"

"Shite!" Harry cursed. He had completely forgotten about Teddy's plan to spend the summer with him. "Okay, listen Teddy. I'm going to send some people to come pick you up and they'll bring you to me. Just stay in the shop until they get there okay?"

"Okay. What's going on?" Teddy asked.

"Don't worry about it okay. Just...I'll explain everything when you get here," Harry promised and after Teddy nodded he cut the call. He then pulled out his cell and phone agent Hill.

"Is everything okay Potter?"

"I've got everything under control," Harry answered.

"I heard the Hulk got loose," Agent Hill said.

_"Under control_ ," Harry stressed.

"Then what can I do for you?" Agent Hill asked, aware of Harry's tone.

"My godson was supposed to spend the summer with me over here. He's at my book shop. Can you or someone pick him up and bring him over?" Harry asked.

"Yes of course. Anything else you need?"

"No." and he hung up. He didn't want to be rude but he was overly tired. And he was guilty, world invasion or not, that's no excuse for forgetting your kid(because Teddy is technically his son in all matters but blood)

"Who's Teddy?"

Harry spun around and stared at Natasha who was looking up at him curiously. "You'll see. He'll be here soon."


	7. Healing, Resting, and Cleaning

Natasha waited with Harry outside for Teddy to arrive. It didn't take long for a black vehicle to arrive. Teddy immediately ran from the car and tackled Harry into a hug.

Harry cringed and Teddy stepped back quickly, eyes wide with guilt and worry, and apologized.

Harry raised his hand to stop him and then pulled him back into a hug. "I'm fine. I'm also _very_ sorry I forgot you. I swear I didn't mean it."

"Don't worry about it. I overheard Mr. Weasley talking with gran. Heard you were very busy. They didn't want me to come but you know me, I came anyway." Teddy said as one of the agents came up with his bag. He took it and Harry led them all up.

Along the way Teddy couldn't help but look from Natasha to Harry, "So...what exactly happened?"

They had arrived back on the floor where they lived and stood there and watched the mess that had been left behind. Harry raised his hand and was about to do a spell when Natasha jumped and hugged his arm.

"What are you doing?" she asked, a bit of an accusing glare on her face.

"I need to repair this damage," Harry replied.

"You haven't rested yet!" Natasha insisted, "You need to nap. And then eat!"

"You haven't been resting properly?" Teddy asked.

Harry sighed as he looked from Natasha to his fourteen year old godson, "Not...really."

Teddy shook his head but he had a small smile on his face, "Haven't learned that you aren't indestructible have you?"

"I know I'm not," Harry replied.

"But you still try to carry on even though you're on empty," Teddy said.

"I'm in charge here Teddy. I can't falter," Harry said.

Teddy looked from the table to Harry and Natasha, "Well I could really use a cuppa. Any chance I can get one?"

Knowing what Teddy was doing he nodded and turned to Natasha, "Can you go ask one of the agents to make a fresh pot and bring it over? One more and I'll be as right as rain."

"Then off to nap?" Natasha asked innocently enough that Harry almost forget she was really a trained assassin.

"Scouts honor," Harry promised with the scout gesture. Natasha ran off towards the first agent she saw.

Teddy and Harry sat at the table and Teddy asked, "Okay, so what happened?"

"Everything was going perfectly normal. I had my little book shop, I lived in a small crappy flat, made rent, used the tube, everything was going normal," Harry started.

Teddy smirked, "You're a Potter, it didn't last long did it?"

Harry waved a hand around and said, "What do you think?"

Looking back to where Natasha ran off, "I'm a bit confused though. What _exactly_ happened?"

"Well what I thought was another normal day turned out to be one hell of a field day. Aliens monsters started attacking the city," Harry replied.

" _Aliens_?" Teddy echoed.

Harry nodded, "Yes. Believe it or not, aliens. From outer space. The mastermind behind it is the adopted brother of a friend of mine. They're from Asgard."

"Asgard? From the Norse mythology?" Teddy asked.

"Except it's not just mythology anymore. Apparently it never was _just_ mythology." Harry said.

Teddy leaned back in his chair. His expression in awe, "Wow...you mean to tell me that they're real? All of it? How many other mythologies?"

Harry shrugged, "I have no idea. But it make sense I guess. I mean look at us. The muggles don't think we're real. Merlin and everything he is are nothing but stories for them and look how far we've gotten."

"True, but still. Wow. Wait, so you know an Asgardian?" Teddy asked as a smile broke out on his face.

"Nope," Harry replied and when Teddy's face fell he smirked and added, "I know two."

Teddy lightened up immediately and Harry could practically see the stars in his godsons eyes, "Really?"

"Yup. Ever hear of Thor and Loki?"

Teddy's eyes widened, "No...way..."

His godson's expression was too funny for Harry not to smile. He had to really try not to laugh, "Yeah. Your old man knows the God of Thunder and his mischievous trickster of a brother. Anyone else's parents that cool?"

"Course not! Not only are you _Harry Potter_ , you're _friends_ with _Thor_ **and** _Loki_! Oh this is so awesome! Just wait until Victoire!" Teddy exclaimed and the last part with a blush.

Harry said and couldn't help but butt in. Though he'd do it with as much discretion as he can muster, "Just look at you! Travelling through the Floo network, covered in soot, and fourteen years old already! You're starting your fourth year this fall. I remember where you were this small," Harry said as he made a gesture with his hands, "So, how _was_ your third year at Hogwarts?"

"It was fine, but don't try to switch subjects. Sides George already tried to talk to me. Give me...the _talk_ ," Teddy shivered.

"It couldn't have been that bad. George's a really cool guy," Harry said as he tried to suppress another laugh.

"Ron and Percy were trying to help," Teddy deadpanned.

This time Harry couldn't hold back the chuckle. He really needed it but he was in so much pain he couldn't full out laugh. Though the idea of the three redheads trying to give his godson the talk was pretty amusing. He stopped when his sides really started to hurt from the tackle the Hulk gave him.

Teddy's face grew grim and asked again, "What happened?"

Harry sighed, "We stopped the aliens and caught the man controlling them. Which was Loki by the way. Some of my new friends were helping the people who picked you up make a machine, a portal, to send them back. Just before they could Loki tried something and all of the Avengers were deaged."

"How?" Teddy asked.

"They were the only ones in the room. My magic was more powerful than Loki's spell so that's why I wasn't affected. The rest I'm not sure. I can't reverse the spell or break it. Heck, I don't even know what it is," Harry replied.

"Okay...I understand the part where you fight with them. But if I understand it correctly, you're babysitting what used to be Earth's mightiest heroes?" Teddy asked, confusion etched on his face.

"I have to Teddy. If I don't take care of these kids they'll be sent to labs where they'll be experiments on like lab rats. I understand that S.H.I.E.L.D, the people who brought you here, are looking out for what's best for Earth, but I wouldn't put it past them not to keep them to see if they can use them in something...evil," Harry tried to explain.

Teddy nodded, "What about Loki? What happened to him?"

"The spell bounced off me and hit him. So now him, his brother, and the rest of them are all kids once more, living together on this floor, with mostly me as a form of chaperon." Harry deadpanned.

Teddy looked around again and took in the mess all over again and then raised an eyebrow at Harry, "I'm guessing that compared to them I was a dream to take care of."

Harry chuckled again then cringed.

"Something's wrong with your side," Teddy got up and pushed up Harry's shirt. There was a giant bruise already forming. Teddy frowned, "I have enough potions in my bag to patch you up if bruises and cuts are all that's wrong. Though there can be some internal damage I can't know about. Maybe you should see a healer."

Harry smiled at his godson and ruffled his hair fondly, "Looks like I got one right here. Going to study to become a healer are you?"

Teddy rolled his eyes, "Full out healer? No. But it never hurts to know a few things when you're the star player for your Quidditch team. And I reckon it's not a bad thing to knew a few healing tricks when you're an Auror either."

Harry smiled kindly at him again, "Smart boy. Very smart."

Teddy blushed, "Anyway, how _did_ you get so banged up? Wasn't from the alien attack was it?"

"No. I didn't get that hurt from then. Patched up real quick. All I really needed to do was rest and regain my energy and magic supply. Though..." Harry left it hanging.

"Babysitting taking a lot out of you?" Teddy guessed the rest.

"Yeah, well, it wouldn't have been all that bad. I had them all under control for the most part." Harry said.

"But?" Teddy pressed.

"But, one of my friends has a bit of a... _condition_. When his heart rate it too high he...turns into a giant green rage monster that's basically indestructible. Luckily for me his alter ego also deaged, but that's still one hell of an opponent. Had to go head to head with him," Harry explained.

"If he's indestructible then how did you win?" Teddy asked, going back to his seat.

"I used whatever I had left of my magic and tapped into my reserved to wash magic over him and revert him back into Bruce, his human self." Harry said.

"Ah. You're worse off than just plain tired then. Come on, off to bed. You can skip tea," Teddy said standing up.

"What about you?" Harry asked, also standing up. He was so tired, so sleepy. He wasn't even trying that hard to fight with Teddy, which he would had he had the energy to do so.

"What _about_ me?" Teddy asked.

"What are you going to do while I sleep?" Harry asked.

Teddy shrugged, "I have some summer reading and reports I need to do. Send letters to friends and family," Teddy then poked Harry's stomach, "Make you a huge sandwich. Honestly, when was the last time you ate?"

Harry rolled his eyes and yawned, "Bruce will still be asleep for some time. The rest of the boys are to stay in their room and I was very crossed so I doubt they'll leave without me giving them permission. You'll have Natasha to keep you company though."

"What about the agents?" Teddy asked as he looked at one by the door.

"They're really just wallflowers. Or helpful when you need something. Think of them as human house elves," Harry said.

"Hermione won't like that term. So they're basically the help?" Teddy asked.

"No," Harry shook his head, "They don't clean or cook."

"Good, because otherwise they are doing a horrible job," Teddy said as he looked at the mess again.

Harry chuckled and clutched his side again, "They're just here to help with tasks. If you need anything or something done because you aren't familiar with something just ask them."

"Okay. Here. Just take these and by the time you wake up, you should be good as new." Teddy said as he handed Harry the vials from his bag. "I'll owl George to send me more. He's the only I think who will send them without telling anyone else or nagging us about being 'safe' and 'careful."

Harry smiled, "Pretty wrong thing to tell a Potter and Lupin huh?"

"The descendents of the Marauders are what they are," Teddy replied with a smile.

"Alright. Well I'm off to sleep. Please, don't get into trouble," Harry meant it as a joke but Teddy saw the small plea in his godfathers eyes.

"No problem. Besides, I think you got into enough trouble for the whole summer for both of us." Teddy replied and watched as Harry went to his room and closed the door behind him.

Teddy looked around him again and winced. It really looked bad in here. Some of the furniture was turned over, there were papers everywhere, there were holes and dents in the walls, toys and other things were thrown everywhere. A total housekeepers nightmare.

"Is Harry in bed?"

Teddy turned around to see a little redhead carrying a try of tea. Smiling at Natasha, Teddy walked over and took the try from her. He set it on the table and served them both.

"Yes, Natasha was it?" Natasha nodded and Teddy smiled at her, "Yes I gave him some medicine that will heal him right up. It'll make him all better while he rests up."

Natasha blushed lightly and looked away, "Good. He needs rest."

"Yeah he does. He always worries about everyone else but forgets about himself. That's one of his things. Anyway, thank you for the tea." Teddy replied as he sipped his.

Natasha simply nodded and sipped hers silently.

After a brief silence she asked, "Are you really his son?"

"Well, not by name. He's my godfather. He's basically taken me in really, but I technically live with my gran, but since I can remember me and gran have lived at Grimmauld Place which rightfully belongs to dad. Though for most of the year I'm at school. And we're both somehow Black's, so we're somehow related. He's also an honored Black, but we both want to keep our fathers names. I'm rambling aren't I?" Teddy asked as he blushed and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"A bit," Natasha replied as she looked up at him.

"Sorry. I do that sometimes," Teddy apologized.

"It's okay. Are you magic too?" Natasha asked.

"Yup. I go to the same school dad went to," Teddy replied.

"Can you show me some magic?" Natasha asked.

"Well...I would if I could, but I'm not sure I can right now," Teddy said.

Tilting her head in confusing Natasha asked, "Why?"

"Since I'm underage I'm not allowed to use magic outside of school, magical areas, or from the supervision of a legal witch or wizard. Since this is...an odd situation maybe I'll be allowed but I didn't ask dad so I'm not sure. I don't want to risk it and get dad in trouble. Sorry," Teddy explained.

"Oh. That's okay," Natasha said, though she was obviously let down.

Teddy bit his lip when an idea popped into his head, "I can't show you a magic trick but I can show you this."

Teddy looked into her eyes and his changed from the color of Harry's to her shade of green. His black hair started to brightened until it was as red as Natasha's.

Natasha gasped and whispered, "How?"

"I'm a metamorphmagus," Teddy replied.

"A what?" Natasha asked.

"I'm a special type of wizard who can change my appearance at will. Well, sort of. Other wizards and witches need a potion or a spell to change their appearance. I can just think about it and it happens. I've got it down for the most part, but sometimes it just happens on it's own." Teddy explained.

"So you can change you hair and eye color at will?" Natasha asked.

"For now, yes. Very easily. There are also other things that I can change. The shape of my eyes, my face, ears. With enough practice I can turn into someone else completely," Teddy said with a smile.

"Why would you want to do that?" Natasha asked before she could help herself. She then blushed bright red and looked down at her tea.

Teddy just smiled and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Natasha asked.

"I may not be able to use magic to clean this place but I might as well do something. Dad's going to be asleep for a while. And when he wakes up the less he has to do the better. I'm not so sure how much magic the spell to clean this room up will be, but with less mess the less magic." Teddy replied.

"I'll help," Natasha said as she ran to his side and looked up at him with a shy smile.

"Um...okay. Why don't you pick up all the papers and put them in a neat pile okay? I'll try to straighten up the less heavy furniture," Teddy said. Natasha nodded.

When the agents in the room saw what they were doing they helped. The adults fixed up all the heavier things like the couches, desk, and tables. Natasha picked up the papers and smaller objects. And Teddy got everything in between. All together they finished in about two hours. The agents said they'll have someone come fix the wall later.

Teddy sat back with a content sigh and admired the clean up work they did. "Looks like dad has one less thing to worry about."

"What about dinner?" Natasha asked.

"Dinner?" Teddy echoed.

"Eating gives you back energy right? Harry could really use some when he wakes up. Plus there's you and me and the boys." Natasha said.

"Right. How many boys?" Teddy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Six," Natasha replied.

"Okay...what do you feed nine un-normal people?" Teddy asked out loud.

"I think the right word is abnormal," Natasha corrected.

Teddy smiled at her and said, "You're a smart one I see. Have to be to out smart my old man into going to bed without much fuss."

Natasha's face was as red as a tomato at the compliment.

"Are you okay? You look a little pink. Not getting a fever are you?" Teddy asked as he placed the back of his hand on her forehead. "No, your forehead is cool. Hm, weird."

"I'm fine," Natasha whispered.

"Ya sure?" Teddy asked and she nodded, "Okay then. So, dinner? Any suggestion? Preferably something simple to make."

* * *

.:~*~:.

Harry woke up to the smell of smoke. Alert and panicked, he rushed towards the kitchen. When he got there he saw a redheaded Teddy wearing oven mitts to place a pot into a sink. He turned on the water and there was a sizzling sound as whatever was in it met the cool water.

Natasha was on a stool using a paper plate to fan some of the smoke away. Harry raised his hand and used a spell to will the smoke away.

Coughing, Teddy and Natasha turned to Harry, "You didn't need to waste magic on that dad."

"Yeah Harry. The smoke would have left soon. There wasn't much," Natasha added.

"What happened?" Harry asked as he ignored them.

"I was making soup," Teddy said, "Look easy enough."

"What happened?" Harry asked again as he approached the sink and stared at the black stain in the pot.

"Well Natasha told me about the appetite some of the boys had so I guessed I had to make something else. While we were thinking of what to make and seeing what what in the ice box and pantry we sort of...forgot...about the soup," Teddy finished lamely.

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose. While looking up at his godfather worriedly Teddy's features returned to mimicking Harry's.

"You...burned... _soup_?" Harry asked slowly.

"Yes," Teddy replied shortly.

Harry sighed, "Are either of you hurt?"

"No, we're fine," Teddy replied and Natasha nodded.

"Then I guess we should let bygones be bygones. I don't have the energy to properly lecture you," Harry said.

Worry was etched into Natasha's and Teddy's face as the younger wizard said, "Maybe you should go back to sleep."

"Nah. I got a few hours. Besides, it's almost dinner time. The brats are going to be hungry," Harry said as he went to the fridge and saw what he had to work with.

"Okay fair. But after dinner head back to sleep okay?" Teddy asked.

"He _already_ promised. No story, no broom rides, no butts. Straight to bed." Natasha said and reinforced her order with a small glare.

"Yeah yeah, I already promised." Harry said with a shake of his head. "Now you lot get what I tell you and follow my directions. In an hour or so we'll have a proper meal made."

Teddy and Natasha nodded and all three of them got to work. Soon enough they had a proper meal with steak, vegetables, fruits, soup, and some yummy warm biscuits.(America term. Those little bread buns they serve in restaurants.)

The three of them were admiring their work at the table.

"Are you sure this isn't a bit much? Looks like we can feed the entire Weasley family plus the extras," Teddy said.

Harry hugged him with one arm and winked at him, "Trust me. We'll be lucky if we don't need to make more."

"Should I get the boys?" Natasha asked.

"In a bit. But why don't you get the plastic cuts and plates and set up a place for everyone?" Harry suggested and Natasha went on to do just that.

Teddy turned to Harry and said, "I'm sorry about the mess dad. I was just trying to help, honest."

Harry smiled fondly at Teddy, "I know. And I appreciate the gesture. I just worry about your safety."

"I know you do, but hey, ease up. Out of our dads, mine was more mellow than yours." Teddy said with a smile.

"Yes but Remus was _still_ a Marauder and your mother was quite the mischievous sprite," Harry replied with a smirk.

"So we're good?" Teddy asked.

"We're always good bud," Harry said.

"Thanks dad. And you know, I feel this is the mushy part where I say, well you know...I love you," Teddy whispered the last part.

Harry laughed and placed Teddy in a playful arm lock while ruffling his hair, "You better believe that's the part when you tell me you love me. After everything I've done I'm glad my son appreciates what I've done."

" _Dad~_!" Teddy whined with a laugh of his own.

"You have a son?"

Harry let go of Teddy and stared at the new voice.

"Tony. Hey," Harry greeted.

"YOU HAVE A _SON_!" Tony roared.

"Tony, what's wrong?" Harry asked as he approached the young genius, though he had an idea forming. One he knew he wasn't going to like.

Tony's eyes were wide, angry, and on the verge of crying. He looked between Harry and Teddy before settling a glare on Harry. Then he pointed accusingly at him and screamed, "YOU _DO_! YOU DO HAVE A SON, YOU JERK!"

When the tears started to fall Tony bolted away.

"TONY!" Harry yelled.

"What just happened?" Teddy asked.

Harry shook his head, "I'll handle it. In the mean time get Natasha to get the boys and start dinner without us. We'll be back soon."

"You sure?" Teddy asked.

"Positive. I know how to handle this," Harry said as he ran after Tony. Then he whispered to himself, "I hope."


	8. Burdens, Friends, and Tantrums

"We heard yelling. What did Tony do now? And who are you?" Clint asked as he and the boys entered the kitchen.

Natasha stepped in front of Teddy and introduced him, "This is Teddy. He's Harry's son."

"You are the son of the sorcerer?" Thor asked as he walked up to Teddy.

"Yeah," Teddy replied, still looking in the direction Harry had gone with a confused look.

"If you're his son, then why weren't you with him when he first showed up?" Clint asked a bit accusingly with his arms crossed and little glare in place.

Natasha scowled and went to punch Clint on the shoulder, "Don't be rude to Teddy!"

"If Harry is busy with work then Teddy was probably with his mom, right?" Steve asked.

"Dad and my grandmother are the only family I have left actually." Teddy said finally paying full attention to the rest of the kids, "I was in school up until a few days ago. Dad said I could spend the summer with him before I had to go back in September."

"School? Do you go to the one he did?" Clint asked.

"Yes he does," Natasha said with a smile toward Teddy.

"That's incredible! Have you had any adventures the like of which rival his?" Thor asked with awe in his eyes.

"Um..." Teddy thought over all of the stories concerning his dad. The actual ones that happened and the ones other people claim have happened. "Um...no. I don't think anyone will ever have adventures that rival his."

"He has fought dragons, and evil sorcerers, and overcome life threatening challenges. Harry is probably the most powerful sorcerer in existence. The only one powerful enough and clever enough to live and tell his tales. Though this is his child, I doubt Harry would allow anything to harm him. Or allow anything too challenging to be placed before him," Loki said.

"That's right. Because Harry is the world's best everything! But that's Harry. You may never be as good as him. That's how good he is," Clint said with a smirk and received another punch from Natasha. "Ow! Will you _stop_ hitting me?"

"Then stop insulting Teddy!" Natasha snapped back.

"Geez, what is he, your boyfriend?" Clint made a face at her.

"He's not my boyfriend! Boys are icky!" Natasha exclaimed though her face was as red as her hair.

"Hm," Clint said as he looked between Teddy and Natasha, "Yeah, okay. I believe that. Sides, he's Harry's son. He probably already has a girlfriend. And someone who doesn't _hit_ people!"

Natasha was still red but this time with anger. Her eyes were glaring at Clint, who seemed oblivious to the whole thing. Teddy knew that it was probably a good time to step in but he had no idea what to say. He was also blushing a bit at Clint's comment about already having a girlfriend. Then he counted the boys and realized something.

"Didn't you say there were six boys?" Teddy asked.

"Yup. There's me. I'm Clint by the way. This is Steve, that's Thor, his brother Loki. Watch out for him, he's bad." Clint said as he stuck out his tongue to Loki, who glared back at Clint, "Tony left the room before us so I don't know if you already met him. He's pretty cool and funny even though he's little. Then there's Bruce. He's in the room."

"Well, dinner is ready. Dad went after Tony who seemed to be upset. He said to make sure you guys got started without them, that they'd be back soon. Is Bruce asleep still?" Teddy asked.

"No, he woke up but doesn't want to leave the room," Clint answered.

"How come? Is he not feeling well?" Teddy asked.

"It's not that," Steve replied. He looked nervous talking about it.

"What is it?" Teddy coaxed.

"Before you arrived something happened with him...he...uh..." Steve struggled on how to explain what had happened.

"It appears that when upset, Banner turns into a monster," Loki stated.

"Yeah. He totally rampaged through the tower and got into a fight with Harry. Who naturally won," Clint added with a triumphant smile that quickly turned into a frown, "Though he was in a really bad shape when we last saw him. And he was really mad."

"Indeed. The sorcerer was very upset with our disregarding his orders," Thor said sadly. Then he looked imploringly at Teddy, "We didn't wish to go against his orders, but we could not stand by and do nothing!"

"My brother is correct. Harry needed help. Even _he_ struggled against the beast that Banner became. But he was very crossed with us and it is an ill feeling," Loki added.

Teddy smiled sympathetically at the kids, "I know what you mean. But I wouldn't worry too much. Once dad gets rested, he'll stop being crossed."

"You sure? This has happened twice that we've disobeyed orders," Steve said with a frown.

"Neither of those times were our faults! Tony and Bruce were at fault the first time. And Loki, Tony, and Bruce were at fault the second time. The rest of us just hung on for the ride," Clint said in an off handily manner and shrugged.

"Be that as it may, so long as no one was hurt, dad will forgive you all. He was known to be quite the mischievous one at school himself. Always disregarding the rules and causing trouble," Teddy said with a smile but then looked towards the room, "No one answered my question. Is Bruce alright?"

"Well, he's not a monster anymore," Clint said.

"When you're around him, try not to call him a monster, yeah?" Teddy asked Clint.

"How come?" he asked.

"Because it'll hurt his feelings. From what dad said, he can't control it and that Bruce is a really good guy normally. Knowing he can become something that scary and hurt people, will make him feel really bad." Teddy explained.

"But he did hurt people. He hurt Harry," Loki said.

"Right, but what if it had been one of you? How would you feel if you didn't have control over something like that, and it was you who hurt my dad?" Teddy asked. From the short time being around these kids, he already gathered how much his dad meant to them.

All of their eyes widened and they all gasped. Teddy smiled and said, "See? You wouldn't want to be reminded either. Now, while I go fetch Bruce, why don't the rest of you start eating? Shame if it got cold."

"I'll come with you," Natasha offered and stepped closer to Teddy.

Teddy smiled at her, "Thanks Nat, but why don't you go eat with the boys? I can handle this."

"You don't want me to help?" Natasha visibly deflated.

"See? Had you been his girlfriend, he would have wanted you to go with him," Clint said.

Natasha's eyes glistened with tears and she turned to Clint and yelled, "Shut up!"

Teddy quickly said, "It's not that. It's just that I need someone I trust to make sure you boys behave. And I trust Natasha with that job."

"R-really?" Natasha asked shyly with her blush returning full blast.

"Of course. Now go make sure everyone eats something and try not to destroy the kitchen. Until I return, you're in charge Nat," Teddy said with a smile and then went off towards the kid's bedroom.

"He is _so_ your boyfriend," Clint said with an eye roll.

"He is _not_! Shut up!" Natasha cried as she hit him yet again.

* * *

.:~*~:.

Teddy knocked on the door before he entered the room. It was dark but the ceiling was enchanted and let him see Bruce's figure on one of the beds.

"Bruce?" Teddy called out.

He heard a hiccup and as he approached the boy, he saw him shaking.

"Bruce? You okay?" Teddy asked.

"W-who are you?" Bruce stuttered quietly.

"My name is Teddy. Harry's my dad. I just came to get you for dinner," Teddy said gently.

At Harry's name, Bruce tensed and buried his face deeper into his knees that were drawn to his chest. Teddy heard a choked sob and felt an ache in his chest. He supposed he could have gotten it from both of his parents, from what Harry has told him, or perhaps learned it from Harry himself. When he sees someone in pain, especially someone so small and defenseless as Bruce, he feels inclined to do everything in his power to make it better. To make it right.

"He's not hurt Bruce. And he's not angry with you," Teddy said quietly. From what the kids had told him and from what Harry as told him, he knew this is what was plaguing Bruce's young mind.

"But I did hurt him. It could have been worse...I could have killed him!" Bruce cried.

Teddy sat next to Bruce and draped an arm over his shoulder and brought him in for a one arm hug. "No offense to your strength little man, but it'll take much more to defeat dad."

"The others said he looked in really bad shape," Bruce whispered.

"Well that wasn't all you. Dad had fought some seriously evil monsters a few days before taking on the job of caring for you all. He just hasn't had the proper time to recover. Once dad gets a good nights sleep and a really big meal, everything will be right as rain. Promise," Teddy offered Bruce a smile.

Bruce wiped away some tears and asked, "You sure?"

"Course," Teddy replied.

"Do you...do you think he can forgive me?" Bruce asked.

"There's nothing to forgive. That wasn't you. Dad knows you wouldn't hurt a fly. It's not in your nature," Teddy said.

"But I'm a monster. In a second I could hurt people. Maybe Harry is powerful enough to stop me, but not everyone else is. What if it happens again and he's not there to stop me? I could really hurt someone!" Bruce cried.

"Dad will make sure that doesn't happen," Teddy answered very seriously.

"Why would he bother with me? I'm just a burden." Bruce said miserably.

"No Bruce. Your problem is the burden, but it's one that shouldn't be dealt with alone. Dad will help you and so will I," Teddy said. Bruce looked up at the teenager with surprised shock. Teddy smiled and said, "I promise. Anything you need, I'll help you with."

"W-why?" Bruce asked as he held back tears. He had been so scared. Scared of what he had done, of what he was, of what he could do, and of what could have happened. Now, he was feeling a bit better.

"Because...I too could have been given a burned like yours. And I know my dad will help you and stand by you, like he would to me." Teddy said.

"I don't understand," Bruce said.

Teddy sighed, "My dad...my real father, was a werewolf."

"Real father?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah. Harry is my godfather but he practically adopted me. I see him as a dad and call him that, but my biological father was someone else. And he was cursed since childhood with the werewolf curse. But he wasn't alone...at least not anymore when he got to school and made friends. Harry's dad and godfather befriended my father. They learned his secret and helped him in any way they could." Teddy said with a smile. He frowned a bit as he was reminded of Pettigrew but decided not to bother Bruce with _that_ story. He regained his smile and continued, "They were limited, of course, but they still helped him. While he transformed in the forest every full moon against his will, they learned to change into animals to be with him through the worst of it. As a show of support and to make sure nothing bad happened while he wasn't in control."

"Yeah?" Bruce asked.

"Uh huh. And Harry also knew my dad and accepted him even though he knew what he was. He was busy with his own battles, but he says that if he could do anything to help my dad, he would have. And when I was born, he didn't know if I'd have any werewolf genes but swore to me that he'd be there with me one hundred percent of the way. Luckily for me, I didn't inherit them. But I've made dad tell me stories about my real dad and his struggles. My dad was a powerful and intelligent man. Quiet and reserved, but he was just as much a troublemaker as Harry's dad and godfather," Teddy said.

"Thank you..." Bruce said as he wiped all of the tears from his face and smiled up at Teddy.

"There's a smile. Good, now come on. From what I've been told, we'll be lucky if they left us anything to eat. And dad cooked most of it, so you _know_ it's good!" Teddy stood and offered Bruce a hand.

Before they left the room Bruce stopped and asked Teddy, "Did you mean it?"

Teddy knelt down to Bruce's eye level and offered another smile, "Anything for a friend. And we're friends Bruce...if you wanna be, that is."

Bruce returned the smile and said, "I'd like that. I'd like that very much."

* * *

.:~*~:.

Harry followed behind Tony, but he had to admit that the kid was fast. He cheated a bit when he used the 'point-me' charm to locate the young genius. When he did, he wasn't surprised to have found him in one of the labs.

"Tony?" Harry called out.

"GO AWAY!" Tony yelled.

Harry mentally sighed but trudged on and continued to look for Tony. "Not until we talk."

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Tony yelled back.

"No. I know you're upset and I want to help you. Please? Just come out and talk to me," Harry tried.

"NO! GO BACK TO YOUR SON! LEAVE! JUST LEAVE!" Tony yelled and Harry followed it until he found the genius hiding behind some machinery.

"Tony...please. Let's just be mature okay?"

"WHY? Because your son is mature? Well tough! I'm a spoiled brat and I'll act however I want!" Tony exclaimed. His voice cracking a bit.

"Tony-"

"I SAID GO AWAY!"

"Not until you're okay. And right now you're not okay," Harry said and tried to approach Tony, but Tony just moved away from Harry's touch.

"Don't tell me if I'm okay or not! I'm not your kid! You don't care about me! I was stupid to try to impress you!" Tony yelled.

"You aren't stupid Tony. Far from it," Harry said as he tentatively took a step forward. He was reminded of working with a cornered animal.

"Yes I am! How could I be so stupid to think you cared about me for real?" Tony demanded.

"I do care about you Tony. I care about all of you," Harry spoke gently.

"It was such a waste of time trying to outdo those other idiots! It was bad enough I had to compete with _them_ to get just _two_ _minutes_ from you! How the heck am I supposed to compete with your _son_? He's probably perfect and charming and _good_!"

"So are you, Tony," Harry replied.

"NO I'M NOT! I'm stupid, and a troublemaker, and I _never_ do anything right! My own father doesn't love me! He's _never_ around and when he is, he never wants to be around me! Even now! This is _his_ tower isn't it? I'm in danger! Is he here? _NO_! Neither of my parents are here and I was scared but that doesn't matter! _I_ don't matter! I _never_ matter! Because there is _always_ something more important than me!" Tony's voice drops to a whisper as tears fall freely. "Then I find you...I thought...I thought I could impress you. I thought I could make you proud and finally have _someone_ tell me that _I'm_ good. _Me_...to tell me that I'm good and mean it. But you _don't_! Because I'm not your kid! I'm just a burden and I always will be! So just leave me alone! Go be proud of your son! Go be a father and leave me alone to rot! GO! I WANT TO BE ALONE! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Harry stared at the child in front of him. He was about to turn and let Tony have some time to calm down but his instincts told him otherwise. This was a critical moment where he needed to make an impression on Tony. To show him that he was worth someone's time and effort. That he did matter to someone. Harry mentally sighed, knowing the next couple of minutes, maybe even hours, weren't going to be easy.

He walked up to Tony and knelt down to his level, "Tony..."

Tony turned his back to Harry and refused to look at him. Harry took a deep breath and hugged Tony close to his chest. Tony fought and struggled as hard as he could. He kicked and screamed, scratched and even bit the wizard a few times. He continued to struggle as Harry tried to calm him down.

"Shh...shh..." when Tony finally began to tire, he turned around and buried himself into Harry's chest and began to sob. Harry fell to his knees and held Tony much like he used to when Teddy was younger. Harry continued to make shh-ing noises until there was nothing but hiccups coming from Tony.

"I'm not going anywhere Tony. Not until you stop hurting. I don't know if you believe me, but I can't stand to see you hurt. Someone so young shouldn't know the hurt that you do. And I'm so so sorry that you do. I can't take that way, but I can make you believe in other people. I'm not going to leave you, and I want you to know that you _do_ impress me. Your genius for your age impresses me very much. And even if I'm not your father, I _am_ very proud of you. I'm proud to have met you and help you any way I can. I know that one day you will be a great man and make me even prouder.

"Yes, I have a son. Yes, you have to share me with the others, but that doesn't mean you mean any less to me than they do. You have a special place in my heart Tony. I know what it feels like to be abandoned and alone, and I don't want you to feel like that. So please...don't lock me out." Harry begged softly.

Tony continued to cry but nodded into Harry chest. They stayed like that for a while longer before Harry stood up and left the lab. "I'm tired Harry."

Harry nodded and walked back to the kid's room. He was about to place Tony on the bed when Tony clung to him tighter, "Don't leave me Harry."

Harry combed his hand through Tony's hair and kissed his forehead, "Never, kid."

Harry laid down with Tony resting on top of his chest. He closed his eyes and listened to Tony breathing as he calmed down from crying. There was still the occasional hiccup or two, but it was over for the most part. Finally, Tony's breathing evened out and the wizard knew the genius was finally asleep. He hated the thought of moving and waking him up. Poor thing had been through a lot, plus, he himself was very comfortable.

Harry breathed deeply and continued to stroke Tony's hair. It seemed to be calming to the genius and he too found it soothing. He closed his eyes and soon fell asleep as well.

* * *

.:~*~:.

Teddy had excused himself from the table to go see if his dad was okay. The kids had luckily not destroyed the kitchen or dining area while he was with Bruce. Even more, they had left some food for them. Together they ate and shared stories while waiting for the remaining two members. When he had finished, he told the kids that he'd be back soon.

He would have checked the whole place himself but he didn't want to get lost, or leave the kids alone for too long. So he asked one of the agents if they had seen his dad. They claimed that he was in the children's bedroom. Teddy thanked them and went to search for the older wizard. The sight that greeted him made him smile. He grabbed the blanket from another bed and covered them both and returned to the table.

"Where are they?" Natasha asked.

"They're already asleep. Lets keep it that way, okay?" Teddy asked.

They all nodded.

"Should they not eat? When was the last time the sorcerer ate?" Thor asked.

"I know, but they're both very tired. They need their sleep. In the morning we'll make them eat a huge breakfast,"Teddy replied.

"Right. What now?" Clint asked.

"We'll clean up here and then head to the game room. I'll tell you guys a story, since I promised Natasha I would. Then we'll quietly get into bed, without waking dad or Tony, okay?"

Again they all nodded and helped each other clean the room. When finished they followed Teddy to the game room. He took a seat in the rocking chair and they all sat at his feet. Teddy thought for a minute before they he started his tale, "This is my favorite story. It's the tale of the Three Brothers. It's a legendary tale of some of the most powerful and wisest wizards in history. They also happen to be dad's ancestors.

"There was once three brothers..."


	9. Three Brothers, Nightmares, and Business

Teddy told them the story about the Three Brothers and how the youngest, the owner of the Cloak had outsmarted Death. The story revolves around three wizard brothers who once conquered death for a short time by defeating a deadly obstacle with their magic. The personification of Death appeared out of anger because he was defeated by their magic, but pretended to congratulate them by awarding them gifts of their choosing; The Elder Wand, The Resurrection Stone and the Invisibility Cloak. Two of the three brothers wished to conquer Death beyond what they had done already, and foolishly chose their gifts accordingly, leading to their early demise. The third brother was wiser, and hid under the Invisibility Cloak that allowed him to postpone death until he was ready; He lifted the veil that had helped him to evade the afterlife and was welcomed by Death like a friend.

"And the sorcerer is the descendent of such an amazing warlock?" Thor asked with starstruck eyes. He was practically bouncing in his seat by the end.

"Yup," Teddy agreed and smiled.

"But didn't you say it was just a story?" Steve asked.

"Yes, and it's famously known in the wizarding world. But most believe it to be just a story. My family and our close friends, however, know it to be true." Teddy replied.

"How do you know?" Clint asked. He was seated as far away from Natasha as possible. He didn't like being hit. For a girl, she had a really hard punch.

"Some believed this tale was about the Peverell Brothers. They can be traced to the Potter family. The wand and the stone, being lost to the original brothers for their selfish arrogance, didn't get passed down through the generations. If one wanted to be the owner of the wand and have it work for them, they would have to defeat the previous owner. It was impossible to defeat whoever held the wand in battle though, but if you managed to kill the previous owner in a different way, the wand will rightfully belong to you. So like the tale said, the oldest brother was rash and got drunk on both liquor and arrogance. He told how he possessed the most powerful wand in existence by cheating it away from Death himself." Teddy explained.

"Power such as that brings forth the curiosity and greed of others," Loki said.

Teddy nodded, "The wand had a very bloody history because people kept killing the previous owners to get hold of the wand. It eventually came into the possession of dad's old headmaster and he tried to change the wand's reputation. Eventually after that and a few more hand arounds, it became dad's. The stone, also not being passed down in any order, fell into the hands of dad's enemy. Though it became lost and found by dad's old headmaster as well."

"And the invisibility cloak? I imagine if that were to be lost...it'd stay lost? Cos' you know...it's invisible," Clint said.

Teddy chuckled but it was Natasha that answered, "Weren't you paying attention to the story? When the youngest brother was ready to meet Death, he passed on the cloak to his son."

"And before he started the tale, the sorcerer's son claimed this to be the tale of Harry's ancestors. It's only logical that it was passed down the family. So all three items are in the possession of the sorcerer Harry?" Loki asked.

"They were for a while. Dad's old headmaster had asked to borrow the cloak from dad's dad. Unfortunately in that time it was in the headmaster's possession, dad's parents were killed. The cloak was returned to dad on Christmas in his first year of school." Teddy smiled sadly, "It was the second present he ever got, but it was the first real permanent one he could keep."

"If Harry had all three items, does that make him Master of Death? And what did you mean only for a while?" Bruce asked. He was sitting next to Teddy. He felt very comfortable and relaxed next to his new friend.

"For a while, I mean, for about a day or so. The Master of Death is only possible when you have all three. Dad _did_ have all three and he used them to defeat Voldemort, his enemy. From what Uncle Ron has told me, dad used the stone to contact his parents, my real dad, and his godfather for advice. Dad had gotten the rightful ownership of the wand but the wand itself was in the hands of Voldemort. Though he wasn't aware of this. So when he used the killing curse on dad, the spell backfired and killed Voldemort once and for all. But dad had dropped the stone in the forest after speaking with his family and he snapped the Elder wand in half after the battle and threw it off of a bridge. He kept the cloak but only because it was passed down to him by his dad." Teddy said.

"He surrendered that type of power? Why?" Thor asked.

Teddy thought for a moment. When people told him stories about his dad and about how powerful he had gotten, but then chose to stepped down, Teddy had a hard time understanding it. He had heard many different tales and outcomes and rumors.

It was when he heard it from the Weasley's and close friends that he understood.

"It's not the power you have that matters. It's what you choose to do with it that does. Dad just wanted to be a normal guy and knew himself pretty well. He didn't want to risk becoming temped by such power. Plus he didn't want the responsibility that would come with being Master of Death." Teddy said.

"That sounds like Harry," Steve said with a smile.

"Yup. Well I think it's time for bed," Teddy said as he stood up.

"Awe! But we're not tired!" Clint protested.

"I agree! Another story!" Thor demanded.

"Sorry boys. One story. That's what we agreed upon. Not very noble to go back on your word," Teddy said with a smile.

"It's the same deal we made with Harry. So stop whining!" Natasha cried.

"It is getting late. We wouldn't want to upset Harry any more by breaking bed time," Bruce said.

"Yeah, okay. I am kind of sleepy," Steve yawned.

Clint yawned too and rubbed his eye, "Fine...but tomorrow we get _two_ stories! One from Teddy and one from Harry!"

"We'll talk with dad about it tomorrow. Now, all of you go change. And please try to be quiet. We wouldn't want to wake dad up," Teddy said.

"Where are you going to sleep?" Bruce asked.

Teddy hadn't thought of that. He and his dad didn't really make any sleeping arrangements for him yet. Shrugging, Teddy said, "He's sleeping in Tony's bed right now, so for tonight I'll sleep in his room. Tomorrow I'm sure I'll get my own."

* * *

.:~*~:.

Harry was surrounded by darkness and felt weightless. He tried to find his body and have some control but it seemed impossible. Then he blinked and suddenly he was running in a forest. It was cold and a lot of tree were bare from any leaves. Harry was running and seemed to have been doing so for a long time. He couldn't really feel it, but his mind told him that his muscles ached, his chest felt tight as he lungs worked overtime, and his paranoia was off the charts. As he continued to run with all his might, it seemed futile. It was like running in water, but he didn't dare stop.

He heard screaming but couldn't see anyone. At first all the screaming was being done at once so he couldn't tell who it was. As he ran, the screams started to make themselves known. One had been the terrifying scream of his mother the night Voldemort killed her. Another scream belonged to Cedric. Then Ron and then Hermione. Everyone he knew, from his cousin Dudley, all the way to Teddy and the Avengers, Harry heard their pain filled screams.

They were ahead of them. He just had to run faster and he'd reach them. He would save them because he could...because he had to. That's what he did. He saved people.

The cold, dark forest seemed to be never ending. Though he could hear those toe curling screams very clearly, Harry didn't see anyone.

Then to his horror he saw a massive flash of green. Panic and dread filled Harry, and suddenly it didn't feel like he was running in water anymore. The screaming stopped and all Harry could hear was his blood rushing to his ears, his heart pounding erratically in his chest, and the panting of his breaths.

He saw a clearing coming up and Harry did his best to run faster. When he did, he dropped to his knees. Both in exhaustion and misery of what he saw. Piles of dead bodies that belonged to his friends and family. From those that he lost and those who remained, all lay dead at his feet.

Harry felt sick and felt the tears stream down his cheeks. In the distance he heard an evil raspy chuckle and a pair a malice filled red eyes disappeared in the darkness of the forest.

"HARRY!"

Harry bolted up in on the bed and heard and 'oomph!'

When he looked down, he saw that Tony had fallen from the bed.

Harry wiped the sleep out of his eyes and helped Tony back up, "I'm so sorry. You okay?"

"Am _I_ okay? Are _you_ okay?" Tony asked, worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry lied.

"Nice try. We've been trying to wake you for a while now," Clint said. That's when Harry realize that he had fallen asleep in the kid's room, it was night, and they were all around him.

"Shouldn't you all be asleep?" Harry asked, trying to distract them.

"We were," Natasha said.

"You were tossing and turning," Bruce said.

"And you were sweating a lot," Steve added.

"And weeping..." Loki whispered.

"We tried to awaken you but we could not," Thor said.

Harry looked at all of them and realized how scared they were and because of him. He sat back and leaned against the bed post. He used to do this with Teddy when he was younger and also plagued with nightmares. He opened his arms and instantly all of them found a spot next to Harry. Tony and Natasha lied down on Harry chest and listened to his heart, since they were the youngest and smallest. Bruce and Steve each found themselves at Harry's arms. Loki laid down next to his Harry's torso with Thor behind him, and Clint took the other side. They were all clustered together, but none of them minded.

"It was scary. I thought you wouldn't wake up," Steve mumbled.

"Yeah...never do that again," Natasha demanded, though her voice was soft, as though she wanted to cry.

"I'm sorry I scared you guys. It was just a nightmare. It's over now. I'm good. Thank you for waking me," Harry replied.

"Want to talk about it? Talking about it makes it better," Bruce said.

Harry's eyes flashed with intense emotion for a second as he remembered the horrible scene. He gulped and replied, "Thanks guys. Honestly. But I just want to go back to sleep for a while longer. I'm still a bit tired."

"What if you have another nightmare?" Clint asked.

"With you guys here protecting me? Never," Harry offered them a smile.

They smiled too and snuggled into a better sleeping position and fell asleep.

* * *

.:~*~:.

"So...you're Harry's son?" Tony asked as he entered the kitchen where Teddy was eating some cereal. It was still very early and everyone else was still asleep with Harry on his bed. Tony didn't like wasting time and didn't sleep as much as other kids.

Teddy looked up and raised an eyebrow to the dark haired little boy. Wiping his mouth, Teddy said, "You must be Tony."

"You've heard of me?" Tony asked as he joined Teddy at the table.

"They told me everyone's name. Since you were the only one missing, I assume that's you," Teddy reasoned.

"Hmm...okay. So...let's talk business," Tony said.

"Business?" Teddy asked.

"How much?" Tony asked.

"How much...what?" Teddy asked as he raised his eyebrow again.

"For Harry, duh! My own father is _very_ rich. This entire Tower? His. Plus many more things. He owns planes and businesses. Ask for anything and I'll get it." Tony said very seriously.

Teddy tried his hardest not to laugh. After everything that happened and everyone calmed down, he finally put most of the story together. "Uh...I'm sorry Tony but I'm not selling dad for anything."

Tony frowned, " _Nothing_?"

"Would you trade or sell him?" Teddy asked.

Tony pouted, "No...I guess not. Hmm...well what do you think about having a little brother?"

"Little brother?" Teddy echoed.

"Yup. The other day, before the whole fiasco with Bruce, Steve and Natasha were watching a movie called _Matilda_. It was about a little girl who was really smart but lived with really horrible, stupid people. She loved to read and was _very_ intelligent for her age. Her mind was so advance it developed psychic powers. In the end she got adopted by the nice teacher who actually loved her for her. I figure that if she could easily get the adoption papers, so could I." Tony explained with a smile.

"You...you want dad to adopt you?" Teddy asked. He knew these kids really liked his dad, but they all had families and were actually adults. They had their own families.

"Yup! Now that I think about it, I think it would be kind of cool to have a brother. I've always been alone and never really liked sharing, but if these last few days are any indication, I think I'll love being a part of the Potter family." Tony said.

"What about your family Tony? Won't they miss you?" Teddy asked.

Tony's smile fell as he mumbled, "My dad only cares about his projects. Harry's paid more attention to me these last few days than my own father my whole life..."

Teddy's chest ached at that. As someone who never got to meet their real parents, he always saw it as a blessing to have Harry. He didn't understand the people who were alive and wasted time and moments away from those they were supposed to love.

"I suppose I could use a baby brother around. While I'm at school someone has to make sure dad stays out of trouble and remembers to eat." Teddy said as he offered a smile.

Tony returned the smile and grabbed a bowl and served himself some cereal. Until everyone else woke up, the two talked about many things. Teddy told Tony things about his dad. He also explained that Harry was actually his godfather, but kind of adopted him too. Tony smiled brightly at that and said that his chances of adoption just got higher.

Teddy didn't correct him or burst his bubble. From what his dad said, when they found the cure, there was no guarantee that they'd remember any of this. But right now Tony was happy thinking what he was thinking and Teddy wasn't going to ruin that. It didn't happen often, but it has happened before that he was made fun of because he didn't have the 'typical' family. That was all he wanted, but now he was very happy with his gran, his dad, and their close friends that were like family. He just smiled and answered any of his temporary little brother-to-be's questions.


	10. For A Little While

It was hard for Harry to dislodge himself from the others without them waking up, but he did it. After he stretched and popped some of his bones, he blinked in surprise. He hadn't slept that well in a _very_ long time. A smile crept onto his face as he watched the mini-avengers cuddle together to replace his now empty space. They looked so peaceful and without problems. He wished it would last, but at the same time knew it wouldn't.

When his mind woke up a bit more he realized that there was an Avenger missing. And for that matter, he didn't see his godson anywhere.

Harry walked out of the kids room and followed any form of noise he heard. He found them in the game room playing air-hockey.

"Dad! Hey!" Teddy greeted as he threw the orange puck back towards Tony.

Tony blocked and sent it back and said, "Did you sleep okay? No more nightmares?"

Harry just stood there for a moment and blinked. "Uh...I'm okay...great even. All rested...you two are...friends now?"

"Nope!" Tony said as he stuck out his tongue in concentration and tried to block the puck again.

"Uh...no?" Harry question.

"We're brothers!" Tony answered happily.

Harry looked at Teddy for an explanation when he asked, "Brothers?"

"Uh...yeah. Tony's, uh, my little brother now...cos' you're going to adopt him?" Teddy put down the air-hockey paddle and shrugged at his own explanation.

"Uh...what?" Harry asked.

Tony ran to him and looked up at him with the biggest pair of brown eyes. Harry wasn't sure if it was the emotions of Tony's entire life shining through or if he was capable those feeling so young.

"You said you wouldn't leave me...did you mean that?" Tony whispered.

Harry mentally sighed and picked Tony up. Instantly Tony cuddled into Harry's touch, something the young genius wouldn't do anymore with any other adult, not even his own mother. "Yes I meant that."

"Then you're going to adopt me right?" Tony asked.

Harry knew he shouldn't say yes but he knew this wasn't permanent, so...was there any harm if he did? He could practically hear Hermione chide him about how he always got into these situations. But he wasn't Harry Freaking Potter for nothing.

"Yeah Tony. I'll adopt you," Harry said with a smile.

Tony smiled brightly and hugged Harry as tightly as possible. When Harry set him down he ran to Teddy and hugged him around the waist. Teddy smiled and returned the hug. He looked at his dad and they shared a smile and a shrug.

Nothing can possibly go wrong because of this right?

Right?

* * *

.:~*~:.

When the others woke up, they decided that Harry needed to rest and wouldn't let him touch a single pan or skillet. Clint and Tony latched themselves onto Harry's legs and Thor to one of Harry's arms. After five minutes of that, Harry realized he wasn't going to be cooking that day and asked one of the agents to bring them some food.

Harry decided that since they weren't going to let him cook he might as well take them to watch morning cartoon. He put on the Loony Tunes. He started watching it every morning he could since he came to America. He loved Bugs Bunny.

It didn't take long for the others to fall for the cartoon and the sarcastic witty bunny either. While they were all distracted, Harry tried to sneak away but Tony quickly asked where he was going.

"I have to call a friend. I haven't called in and their bound to be worried," Harry said.

"Who are you going to call?" Teddy asked.

"Hermione. Maybe get in touch with Neville. Perhaps Drake. One of them will have an idea of how to help...I hope. Keep on eye on them, yeah?" Harry asked. Teddy nodded and Harry went on his way.

"Who are Her-her-my-oh-knee? Neville and Drake?" Bruce asked.

"Dad's friends. Aunt Hermione is probably the smartest person dad knows. Uncle Nev is brilliant with plants and Mr. Draco is good with potions," Teddy answered.

"Someone's smarter than Harry? Impossible!" Tony cried.

Teddy chuckled, "Dad's pretty good when it comes to things like fighting evil, but in school his friend, Aunt Hermione, was known to be the brightest witch of their time."

"Do you think they'll like me?" Tony asked.

"Er...I'm sure they'll love you. Especially Aunt Hermione. She'll be very impressed with someone so young being so smart," Teddy smiled at Tony, who smiled back, just as brightly.

"Wait, why does he get to meet them?" Steve asked.

Tony stuck out his tongue, "Because Harry adopted me so that means they're now my family too!"

"What? Nuh uh! Harry didn't adopt you!" Natasha exclaimed.

"He did too! Teddy was there when he said so, weren't you Teddy?" Tony demanded.

Teddy scratched the back of his head. He could already see where this was going, "Uh...well...sort of...yeah."

"The sorcerer honestly has taken you in?" Thor asked, furrowing his brow. He cast a glance at Loki who had tensed and began to frown, but didn't seem to want to voice anything.

"Shucks... even though I wish I could be a part of Harry's family, I have my mom waiting for me. And my friend Bucky." Steve said with a small smile, though there was some sadness there.

"I miss my mom too but I like being here with Harry. He's fun," Bruce said.

"Ay. We also miss our parents but do not mind so much since we're spending such adventurous times with the sorcerer. Isn't that right brother?" Thor asked Loki who merely 'Hm'd'.

"Don't _you_ have a family?" Natasha asked Tony.

"Sort of, but they don't care about me. Not like Harry. He's a better father. I like the time I've had with him and so I decided he was going to adopt me. And he did," Tony said with a shrug.

"Is that all you did?" Loki asked.

"Yup!" Tony said happily.

"Okay, okay, that's enough. What do you guys have planned for today?" Teddy asked, trying to change the subject.

Tony and Thor dragged Teddy out into the playing room with Steve, Bruce and Loki following behind them. Natasha was about follow them too when she noticed that Clint was going towards the balcony. Something inside of her told her to follow him, so she did.

Clint stood on the tips of his toes as he looked over the railing.

"That's dangerous. You can get in trouble," Natasha let herself be known.

Clint got down and glared at her, actual anger in his eyes, "Oh geez! Not you again! What, are you going to hit me again?"

"I...you didn't go go the play room," Natasha stated.

"So?" Clint demanded as he turned away from her.

"Don't you want to play with the others?" Natasha asked.

"No," Clint replied immediately.

"What about with me?" Natasha tried again.

"Why? So you can hit me some more? No thanks," Clint snapped back.

"I...I guess I should say sorry about that...I guess I was being mean." Natasha said, no idea where this was coming from.

"Doesn't matter...I want to be alone," Clint whispered.

"Why?" Natasha asked, confused.

"Because that's all I am! Everyone else has someone! I don't! While everyone else has family and friends and siblings to go to, I don't! When all of you go back to your families I'll just get sent back to the orphanage! Just...just let me get used to being alone again..." Clint said quietly, his voice breaking.

Natasha didn't know what to do. She knew she herself didn't like talking about it, and wouldn't know how to comfort Clint. The only thing she could say was, "You're not the only one. I have nothing but an orphanage to return to too."

She didn't wait for him to reply and went back inside. She didn't go to the playroom though. All wants of playing with Teddy or Steve disappeared with her talk on the balcony. She felt like she needed to do something, but she wasn't sure what. When in doubt she did what first came into her head, she went to find Harry.

* * *

.:~*~:.

"Yes...yes...okay...yes. Okay. Yes, please try to get in contact with all of them and have them owl me. Okay, thanks Mione. Bye," Harry said as he hung up the phone.

He sighed. Hermione said that since the spell hadn't come undone, or his magic couldn't overpower it, she would have to examine one of the kids herself to get an idea of what they were dealing with. She suggested maybe getting Madam Pomfrey or McGonagall to come in as well. Harry reluctantly agreed for the sake of his new friends but knew that since there wasn't any real danger, he would wait until his old professor and nurse had free time. Hermione also said she would try to contact Neville and Draco, they should be easier to get a hold of.

"Harry?"

Harry looked towards the doorway and saw Natasha standing there, shifting nervously from foot to foot.

"Is everything okay Natasha?" Harry asked as he stood and made his way to her.

"Yes...? No? I dunno..." Natasha whispered.

Harry smiled at her, "Want some tea? I think they brought in some more types."

Natasha merely nodded. Harry picked her up and made it to the kitchen and made them some Earl Tea. When they were both served and seated Harry asked, "What happened?"

"It's Clint..." Natasha said.

"Clint?" Harry repeated. From these few days he's known Clint to be a bit loud, sassy, but other than that just a normal little boy.

"He's...upset," Natasha continued.

Harry frowned, "Do you know why?"

"We...they...were talking about family earlier..." Natasha whispered.

"Family?" Harry echoed.

"Yeah. Tony said that you had adopted him. Steve and Bruce mentioned their moms and Thor his parents. I didn't really think of it...but as the guys went into the playroom with Teddy, Clint didn't. He went out into the balcony. When I approached him he was actually angry. Not pretend angry or immature angry...he was really upset. And I know why too...when this is over and everyone else goes home to a family...Clint and I will just return to the orphanage...and not the same one...I like it here Harry...I like all of you...I don't wanna go back...here it...it...I now know how it feels like to have a family. A good and happy one too..." Natasha shakes her head, "This is about Clint, not me. He's upset because he's an orphan too...and I don't know what to do to make him feel better..."

A similar ache entered Harry's chest, like the one he felt for Tony at hearing Natasha speak. Harry knelt in front of Natasha and smiled tenderly at her, "Natasha...I'm glad you like it here to much. And...if you don't want to go back to the orphanage you don't have to. There is also room for another in our family."

Her eyes widened, "R-really?"

Harry nodded and she jumped out of her seat and hugged him. Harry smiled, knowing it was a rare moment for Natasha, child or adult. "We'll be one big happy family. Now, where's Clint? I have to tell him about his newly acquired adopted status."

Natasha giggled, "He was on the balcony the last time I saw him."

Harry nodded and walked Natasha to the playroom before going in search of Clint.

* * *

.:~*~:.

Clint wasn't on the balcony but on the roof. Harry wasn't surprised at this point and though a part of him wanted to freak out, another part of him told him that he too was fond of high places when he was upset.

Clint was perched on the ledge, but thankfully it was very wide and not as dangerous as smaller buildings. Harry approached Clint and silently stood there and waited for Clint to be ready. He wouldn't hurry or push him.

"It's confusing being here..." Clint finally said.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"The orphanage where I stayed was near a park and I would sometimes play with some of the normal kids. They didn't understand at all. Why I always smiled, why I always made jokes, why I always hid what I was feeling and pretended to be obnoxiously happy..." Clint whispered and drew his knees to his chest.

"And here?" Harry asked.

Clint sighed, "Here...it's weird. Tony has parents but he's sort of like me, ya know? I can tell he doesn't mean it when he smiles...or he didn't. Here, with you and the others...it's fun. It's awesome. We get _so_ much food, and a warm comfy bed and it's all too myself! And so many awesome toys! I never thought I'd get to play with stuff like that in a million years! Not without stealing it or something... and you're not like other grown ups who get mad easily and yell at us to go away because we're being noisy or something...and you're just _one_ guy!"

Harry climbed onto the ledge and copied Clint. "I guess...I guess I just thought about it, you know, my time as a kid. I know how it is. Being an orphan is not only like you are mute, but also invisible until they need you to do something. I know that even though you are all so young, you've gone through a lot. Maybe more than some adults. I just want to help."

"You are...these last few days have been the best I've ever day...I'm going to miss them...I'm going to miss you and everyone else...even Natasha." Clint murmured.

"And...if I said you _didn't_ have to go back to that orphanage?" Harry asked tentatively.

"What?" Clint gasped as he looked at Harry with widen eyes filled with awe and hope.

"I was thinking...Tony was added to my family, maybe you'd want to be too? Natasha already agreed," Harry replied.

"What?" Clint asked again.

"Would you, Clint Barton, like to be Clint Potter?" _for a while,_ Harry mentally added.

Clint looked down, "Kids cost a lot of money Harry..."

Harry smiled, "And who said I didn't have any? I'm pretty rich ya know. You'll have all the food, toys, clothes, and anything else you'll ever need Clint. I promise."

A few stray tears fell down his face and Clint hugged himself tighter, "I just...I don't wanna be alone...I want somewhere to belong..."

"And you got that with us," Harry sticks out his pinky, "I pinky swear you belong here, with us."

Clint looked at the pinky, then up to meet Harry's eyes. He slowly took the pinky in his own, "Promise?"

Harry rocked their pinkies and said, "Cross my heart and hope to die."

"No, you can never die," Clint said as he stood up and hugged Harry, "But thank you for doing this...am I really your son now?"

Harry ruffled his hair, "We'll write up the paper work tonight."

Clint grabbed Harry's hand as he helped the young blonde jump off the ledge and together they walked back inside. As they rode the elevator down Clint asked, "So does that make Natasha my sister?"

"Uh...sort of," Harry replied.

"Well, can you tell her not to hit me anymore? For a girl she sure hits hard!" Clint whined and Harry chuckled.

"I'll talk with her," Harry said.

"Thanks...dad."

Harry froze. He was used to Teddy calling him that by now but to hear it from Clint and with that something in his voice...Harry knew what it was like. That hope filled gratefulness of someone wanting someone like him. A kid who grew up watching as couples came and went but didn't think he was worth adopting. Spending Christmases and birthdays and other holidays alone, without gifts, or dinners, or love. Thinking there was something wrong with you and then finally coming into this crazy but somehow functional family. He smiled at the blonde and replied, "Come on then son."

So he'd play pretend with them for a while. That was okay. Maybe or maybe they won't remember but for now these kids needed a better memory of their childhood, and maybe Harry needed a family of his own too.

He'd pretend with all of them. For a while. Just a little while.


	11. Seven Potters II

When Clint came back inside with a huge smile on his face and Natasha behind him with a smile on her face everyone knew that Harry had somehow done it again. He had fixed the problem and everyone was happy and everything was right.

But it wasn't right...not all of it.

Thor listened as his friends happily exclaimed their new delights about a big family they had found. He was happy for them, he really was. They were in their play room while Harry helped Teddy settle into his own room.

Natasha and Clint explained how they were now Harry's kids because they didn't have anywhere else to go once they were 'cured', whatever that meant.

Thor chatted with them for a while about their plans about being a new family. Tony admitted feeling weird about not being an only child anymore but said he wouldn't mind so much as long as they didn't hog all of Harry's attention.

"Well you can't hog it all either!" Clint exclaimed.

"Yeah, Tony. You have to share!" Natasha added.

Tony rolled his eyes and said, "I have lots of things I can invent to help Harry. You guys can use the time I'm working on my projects to hang with Harry...or when I'm having some bro-time with Teddy."

Natasha rolled her eyes but didn't argue. She knew Harry would make sure they all get enough attention and didn't need to hear Tony's talk of nonsense.

"Whatever. I want to go play. Steve, wanna play Frisbee with me?"

The blonde perked up and nodded. Steve really liked spending time with Harry and the others and was a bit bummed out about not being able to be adopted by him too, but he had his mom waiting for him. And he really enjoyed playing with Natasha, and welcomed the distraction.

Clint bit his tongue of making kissing noises or any sort of comment. He had finally, sort of, gained Natasha's good side and wasn't going to ruin it. He liked not being punched, thank you very much.

"Come on blondie, I'll kick you butt in the video game again," Tony said as he tapped Clint's shoulder and then turned to Bruce, "You can play winner...so basically you're gonna play me when I win."

"Hey! You only won last time because Loki threw something at my head!" Clint yelled.

"You _were_ being a bit loud and using bad words," Bruce said.

"Don't matter! That didn't count! I demand a rematch!" Clint said.

"Bring it! It doesn't matter what your excuses are, I'll beat you regardless!" Tony said and it continued on as the smart brunettes went to the game station with Clint.

Thor was about to follow them when he noticed that Loki wasn't with the group. He turned around and looked for his brother and saw him sitting out on the balcony patio table. When Thor approached Loki he saw the very upset look Loki had as he held the book of magic the sorcerer had given him very tightly.

"Brother?" Thor asked tentatively as he sat himself in the seat next to Loki.

Loki didn't look up and kept his gaze steadily on the book in his lap. He whispered, "What?"

"You do not wish to play with the others?" Thor asked, trying to keep the happy in his voice, but his worry for his brother made it hard.

"No," Loki said definitively.

Thor bit his inner cheek as he thought of how to make approach the matter. He thought back to his talk with the sorcerer about missing his own home. Maybe the sickness of home has gotten to his brother? The sorcerer commented that the friends he has called would help cure them and they would be going home soon. He smiled encouragingly and repeated the news to his brother, "The magical one believes we will be cured of whatever illness we have soon. We shall return home before you know it brother and-"

"Silence yourself!" Loki barked. He was suddenly panting, his face red, and his eyes narrowed with anger.

Thor swallowed and asked quietly, "Do you not miss home brother?"

Loki was quiet for a very long time before he stood up and turned toward the inside of the tower. With his back to his brother Loki replied, "No. And that is where the problem lies, does it not? I wish to nap."

* * *

Thor watched as his brother disappeared into their room and shut the door. He frowned and sat there for a moment trying to understand what just happened. He thought a lot about what had happened the last few days and about his brother and what his responsibilities as the older brother were. After another moment he stood up and went to search for the sorcerer.

He knocked on the door that was the younger sorcerer's new room and waited for their attention.

"Thor. Is everything okay?" Harry asked as he looked at the crestfallen godling.

"I...I do not know. May we speak?" Thor asked as he finally looked up to meet Harry's gaze.

Harry saw the confusion in Thor's eyes and nodded. He turned to Teddy and said, "Go keep an eye on the others okay? I'll be there when we're done."

"Okay," Teddy nodded and left after he ruffled Thor's hair fondly and gave him a smile.

"Come on Thor. Let's go to the kitchen and get a snack, okay?" Harry asked and the young god just nodded and grabbed Harry's offered hand and they walked to the kitchen.

Harry served them some milk and opened up a box of strawberry pop tarts and offered Thor a smile. "What's wrong?"

Thor nibbled on his pop tart and looked unsure of himself. Similar like the day when Harry found him in his bed home sick. The idea popped into his mind, but Harry somehow knew it wasn't that.

"Have you really adopted them?" Thor asked while looking intently at his lap instead of Harry.

Harry himself blinked in surprised and suppressed a sigh. He knew it would get him in trouble, but it made the little ones happy so it couldn't be the worst decision he's made. He thought over his years at Hogwarts and nodded. Nope, it was definitely not the worst decision he's ever made.

"I have...they are in need of a good home and seem to like me." Harry answered.

"Would...would there be room for one more?" Thor asked quietly.

Harry furrowed his brow. Thor only had happy things to say about his family and home back in Asgard. Maybe it was just childish jealousy of the others?

"What do you mean Thor?" Harry asked.

"Would...would it be possible...for you to adopt Loki as well, sorcerer?" Thor asked.

_Ah_ , Harry thought as it made more sense now. Harry really admired Thor's strong sense of brotherly duty. From the files he's read on him, as well as Hill's and Fury's thoughts, he saw the dedication as a brother Thor had. It was definitely expressed even now as a child. He wanted Harry to adopt his brother where he seemed to be happier even if it meant that they would be separated. That sort of loyalty was rare in noble families, and Harry was glad to be able to see it.

He lifted Thor's chin with his fingers and smiled at him, "Is that what has you upset?"

The blonde nodded, "Loki is upset. It is like the others have said. Here, with you, we all feel welcomed and accepted and good. Our needs are met and we feel very well taken care of and loved. Tony was able to be adopted because his family is not good. While Natasha and Clint do not have a home at all, so tis only the honorable thing for you to do to adopt them...but Loki has a family but...he feels more welcomed here. If it makes him feel better, and you are capable of it...I beg of you, please take in my brother!"

Harry was astonished by the fire in Thor's eyes as he made his plea. The wizard imagine it must be painful to think about them being separated at some point, but he was still willing to do this for Loki if that meant his brother was happy.

The wizard thought about a way he can help Thor without giving Hermione a reason to slap him upside the head.

He smiled at Thor and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry about it okay? I have an idea that I think will make everyone happy."

"You will take Loki in?" Thor perked up but Harry saw the sadness in his eyes as well.

Harry just nodded, "I need to do some paperwork first. I'll reveal what my plan is later this evening. Where is Loki now?"

"He wished for slumber and has gone to our bed chamber," Thor answered.

Harry nodded again and stood up, "Go and play with the others alright Thor. I promise I'll fix everything."

Thor smiled at Harry and hugged him suddenly. He whispered a small, "Thank you."

Harry was surprised by the action but returned the hug. He knelt down to Thor's eye level and placed a hand on his shoulder, "I promise Thor...everything will be okay. Even for you. Now go play."

Thor tilted his head but didn't ask further and followed Harry's orders.

* * *

Harry walked to his room and summoned a book from his bag. It took about an hour of enchanting but he finally charmed it to do what he wanted. He went to the kid's room where Loki was the only one in there.

"Lumos!" Loki said and the tip of Harry's old wand lit up and blinked a few times before it went out. Loki frowned and glared at the wand.

Harry smiled and spoke softly as he walked to Loki's bed, "I had trouble with that one too when I was first learning it."

"I am just horrible," Loki said miserable.

"You are not. You're really talented Loki. And you're very young. You'll get stronger as you get older, I promise." Harry swore.

"I have learned more in ways of combat magic in these few days than I have an entire season in Asgard!" Loki exclaimed.

Harry furrowed his brow, "Like I said. You're still young. It will come in time."

"Father has taught Thor plenty with weaponry and he is only a few short years older than I," Loki said.

Harry nodded and sat beside Loki and just sat there for a moment.

"I will miss this." Loki whispered.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Feeling like I matter," Loki replied.

"But you do matter," Harry said.

Loki shook his head, "Not as much as Thor. They believe I do not notice but I do. He is preferred. Here...here is the most he and I have ever been equal."

"Hey...I want to show you something," Harry said as he took out the book he had prepared. It was old and leathery with thick parchment pages and elegant calligraphy.

"What is it?" Loki asked as he moved to get a better look at the book.

"It's a record of my family," Harry answered and opened up the first page. "In homes with families who have long lines of heritage, they are recorded into what are called Family Trees. These trees are usually imprinted onto the walls of a home. Like a tapestry that shows our linage and history." Loki nodded in understanding of what Harry was saying. Harry continued as he flipped through the pages. He stopped at a page and allowed Loki to get a clear very of it. "In this book though, I have the family history of both my Lord titles. Both the Potter and Black family. Once Teddy comes of age I'll transfer everything that is properly his by birth to him. But for now it belongs to me because my grandmother was a Black who married a Potter. Teddy's grandmother was a Black too, which makes him the proper and unfortunately the sole heir of the Black fortune...after me. But I already have the Potter Lord title and fortune."

Harry flips to the last used page where Loki spotted the name _Harry James Potter._

"That's you," Loki commented and Harry nodded. Under Harry's name was Teddy's, though it was still connected to Tonk's and Remus'. Loki was able to see how Teddy's mother's side was connected to the Black family.

"Give me your hand Loki," Harry asked and held out his own.

Loki immediately handed over his hand, complete faith in the wizard. Harry summoned a small needle and told him, "This might sting a bit."

Then he prodded Loki's index finger and allowed two drops of his blood to fall onto the page. The book absorbed the blood but instead of leaving a smudge or ink blot, the drops took shape of words and connected to Harry's name the same way as Teddy's. Under Harry's name and next to Teddy was the name _Loki Potter._

Loki gasps and took the book from Harry and scratched a bit at his name but it was really there. Tears stung in his eyes as he looked up at Harry.

Harry just smiled and said, "I hope you like having a lot of brothers and a sister."

Loki's only response was to hug Harry very tightly.

* * *

Harry repeated the action with all of them. He sat them down just before dinner and explained it to them, "This makes all of you honorary Potter's. It doesn't mean I am fully stealing you from your families, but you are all legally my children for the time being and until everything gets resolved."

Tony pouted, "What if I want to be your kid forever?"

Harry just chuckled and ruffled his hair, "It works that way too. Now...who's ready for dinner?"

Everyone's faces lit up, already happy about all being adopted, and now they would allow Harry to cook for them. Everything was happy for this odd, new, never boring family.


	12. Lady Sif and Disney

"I've been talking to Draco and he believes he can make it over much sooner than I can. I've got a few meeting to make and Poppy was called out due to some out break and is needed in St. Mungos. Minerva can't really leave her duties even if it's the summer. You'll have to wait a few more days before we can get out there but Drake thinks he can be there within a few hours or tomorrow afternoon your time," Hermione explained through the phone.

Harry sighed a bit but nodded though she couldn't see him, " Hopefully he'll be able to figure out a potion that can reverse Loki's magic. It's very strong."

"What did you expect? Even you, _the most powerful wizard since Merlin,_ " Hermione teased from one of his titles given to him through the media over the years, " have to play by the basics of magic that is common knowledge to us. You just take your own spin on it, but still have the same foundations of an earthling wizard. This is the magic of a powerful Norse god. Which, by the way, is still unbelievable. Why is it always you?" Hermione asked, but more with mirth than with malice. Other than the kids themselves, there was no immediate danger now. Though she worried for her friend as well as the children and Teddy, she _was_ his best friend and could see the humor in it. After all they've been through she along with Harry and Ron have learned to see the light in all dark places.

"Oh ha ha, you're hilarious Hermione." Harry deadpanned.

Hermione giggled, "Look, Drake might be able to find a potion that can work but most likely you'll need to incorporate it with a spell and there is no one better at combining them than you with your natural wild magic."

Harry sighed, "I just hope you're right and we can solve this."

"Is there something I should know about Harry?" Hermione asked, taking note of Harry's tired tone.

"Not really." Harry replied.

"Harry..." Hermione said in warning.

Harry sighed again, "It's just...I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop, ya know?"

"And what other shoe might that be? Loki was the one who cast the spell. And he's there with you isn't he?" Hermione asked.

"Yes but...there are so many other forces out there Mione. You know there are. And well...how long before someone comes knocking on the door and something happens? I already had to _negotiate_ and use a bit of occlumency on Fury and some of the agents to allow me to keep the kids and not have them sent out to labs or something." Harry replied as he looked over his shoulder.

He was in his room with the door closed, locked, and warded. He also had a silencing spell so no one can hear him.

"Harry..." Hermione said in warning once more, "You're playing with fire and you know it."

"I know Mione but...so is everyone else. Right now some of the most powerful beings in the world are very vulnerable and in my care. How many would love to take advantage of that and for what reasons? I not only _have_ to play with fire Hermione, I have to make sure mine is the hottest."

Hermione was quiet for a moment before Harry heard a sigh, "You're right. Hopefully though it won't be for much longer. I'll floo Kingsley and see if he can clear Drake's schedule sooner so he can head over there sooner, okay?"

"Thanks Mione. I'd truly be lost if not dead without you," Harry said gratefully.

"You best not forget. And you're coming over for dinner on your birthday got it? Or we'll come to you." Hermione said and Harry could hear the smirk in her voice.

"I'll...consider it." Harry said evenly.

"Oh Harry...it's like you don't even know the Weasley's." Hermione said and this time Harry could see the see the smirk on her face.

"And it's like you don't even know me," Harry retorted.

Hermione laughed before saying her goodbye and hanging up. Harry put away his phone, stood up from his bed, and walked towards the window. It was nearing a full week since he began taking care of the Avengers plus Loki in their miniaturized states.

With Clint and Natasha being agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Harry didn't worry about having family. Tony was the sole heir of Stark Industries and he trusted Fury and his lackies to inform Pepper or give her some excuse since she was the only person outside of the Avengers who mattered to Tony. Steve was a man in a new time and was reluctant to see the new world, and Bruce's problem with the Other Guy has made him in a nomad who has lost connections with just about everyone in his past life.

Thor and Loki though...

From the files he's read on them they were going to give the Tesseract and Loki over to Odin. The Tesseract being originally from Asgard and as 'resident' hailing from Asgard, trial and punishment for Loki fell on the All Father.

Thor was sent on orders of his father to retrieve both and they must be keeping watch.

Harry frowned as he overlooked the New York Skyline and the clouds began to gather and grey. His magic was stirring and his reasoning wouldn't leave him be. They were going to get visitors soon.

* * *

.:~*~:.

"Hey, how did it go?" Teddy asked when Harry entered the living room where the kids and Teddy were watching a movie on TV.

"A few things have come up so it might take a bit longer for Mione and the others to come over. But maybe Drake can be over later tonight." Harry replied then turned to the TV, "What did you all decide on?"

"Before it could turn into a battle I promised that everyone can pick one and we'd all watch it." Teddy replied.

Harry raised an eyebrow, "How in the world did you keep them from fighting over who went first?"

"I wrote all the names of the movies on a piece of paper and put them in a hat. I told them it was fair and this way I wouldn't have to come and interrupt you while you were busy. They easily agreed. Right now we're watching Clint's choice; _The Incredibles._ "

"I'm not really up to date with muggle kid movies. What's it about?" Harry asked as he walked over toward the kitchen with Teddy following him. The kids were too enthralled with the movie.

"Superheroes. But the world wasn't ready for them so all of them were issued to go into hiding and hide among the common Joes. Two superheroes formed a family and even though the wife accepted it the husband really didn't and is going through a mid-life crisis. It's bad enough for a regular bloke, but one who used to be a superhero? It actually makes me worry about you dad," Teddy said with mock seriousness.

Harry scoffed as he reached for tea pot and filled it with water. "You really think I'll have a mid-life crisis?"

"Doesn't everyone?" Teddy asked.

"I'm not everyone." Harry replied.

"No but you were a baby when you were labeled a savior. A teenager when you were made a hero all over again. You may not have liked it back then or now how the media treated you at some points but you can't lie that you liked some of the attention that's come to you either." Teddy reasoned.

Harry was quiet for a moment before he turned to his godson, "Okay...I won't lie. But even if I do have a midlife crisis I don't think it'll be that bad. Sides, it's still a ways off."

Teddy smirked, "Right. I'd be careful if I were you though dad. You're not as young as you used to be. And getting involved with these hero types isn't so good."

"What are you saying, Ted?" Harry asked as he prepared his tea with his back now turned to his godson.

Teddy shrugged, "You owned a book store. I get that you'd not want to be the Ministry's lapdog anymore but a complete 180? I don't think it's that possible. You could have tried harder to say no to S.H.I.E.L.D if you really wanted to."

Harry looked at his godson for a long moment before he sighed. "I was...getting rather bored. The school year couldn't finish fast enough. I was going to close down the shop and take you all over the world and do the most adventurous of things."

Teddy laughed, "There's the Harry Potter I heard about while growing up."

"Prat." Harry chuckled as he ruffled Teddy's hair.

Teddy chuckled before he got sobered up, "You're worried about something."

Harry nestled his tea in his hands and watches the small ripples that happen on the surface. Yes he was worried, but should he let his godson into his worries?

"Dad come on...I'm here to help you. I can't do that if you don't let me in on everything. Please?" Teddy asked quietly.

Harry gave Teddy a hard look before relenting. Making sure all the kids were busy watching the movie, Harry moved Teddy a bit deeper into the kitchen and said, "I'm worried that so soon after what happened in New York, we'll be visited by Asgard."

Teddy frowned, "But the Asgardians aren't our enemies are they?"

"No...I mean not exactly...I mean..." Harry furrowed his brow in frustration as he tried to find the words he needed. "What I mean is that right now Thor and Loki aren't...they aren't the ones who were in the battle. These are the Thor and Loki who were nothing more but princes with nothing to truly worry about. Not the wayward son who became one of Earth's greatest enemies and a guilt ridden brother who wants to make amends for his arrogance he now knows he had."

While the kids slept Harry dug into as many files on all of then as he could. Because Dr. Selvig was involved in the battle himself Harry was allowed to reach him and speak with him a few times unlike with Thor supposed Earth girlfriend Jane Foster. Her, like Ms. Potts, were still being kept in the dark.

Selvig told Harry of everything he knew first hand and everything he heard from Jane. Thor had been very arrogant and in doing so was banished because he was not ready to yet become the king that Asgard needed. Stripped from his powers and placed among common mortals, Thor learned the lessons his father could not or did not teach him.

But while Thor found his way towards becoming the benevolent king that he was inside, Loki was left out in the cold. His actions were hasty and didn't leave much for explanation or chances of redemption. He was clever and didn't give them the change to ask for forgiveness and in his weak state, was easily manipulated.

In all, Thor will return the hero and Loki the criminal. Thor's protective brotherly instincts will drive him insane with guilt while Loki will have nothing but time alone to fester deeper into his hatred.

Harry did not like any of those outcomes. He especially didn't like it when in the next room all of them, god and mortal, boys and girl, rich and poor were for the first time in probably their whole lives in equality and happy. They were laughing merrily and cheering at what they saw. For whatever they may be guilty of as adults, right now with him they were innocent and they trusted him.

Maybe it was his own personal feeling of being manipulated and used, whether as a beacon of hope or a name to slander, that he wanted to keep all of them safe while in this state.

"Dad?" Teddy asked uncertainly.

Harry sighed, "Things change. Things are always changing Teddy. Every situation has it's facts and its factors. Before you came here and before I was made nanny of Earth's mightiest heroes, they _were_ Earth's mightiest adult heroes who could be held accountable for their actions. But now things have changed again."

Teddy nodded, "Those kids in there aren't their adult counterparts who committed those actions and you're worried they'll be tried as if they were if we get any more visitors."

Harry made a face but shrugged, "I dunno...it's possible. But I'd rather not have to deal with it until we can get things fixed..."

"Is it going to be that easy though?" Teddy asked.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Letting them go. I mean, I know there's a chance they won't remember this...remember us, but _we'll_ still remember them. I can't speak for you but from what I've seen so far...it's going to hurt. They're all so awesome and," he smiled a bit sadly, "They're my brothers and sister. And they might not remember me one day and even if they do...will I ever see them again? What's going to happen to them after? You said so yourself...especially Loki..."

Harry brought Teddy in for a tight embrace and didn't say anything because he couldn't. He couldn't say anything because his thought were the same. Harry tried not to think about it but when there was a lull in the day and the kids were busy playing or he was lying in bed, unable to sleep, he would think about what would happen afterward.

It was like when he was first in Hogwarts. It was so liberating being away from the Dursley's and around people who not only seemed to like him, but respect him. He gave these kids that same feeling...the feeling that they mattered and that they belonged. He's come to know that these kids think of being here with him was the same feeling he had for Hogwarts.

And though he wasn't a father biologically, he has developed parenting instincts since caring for Teddy and it's only developed with his time here. Curing these kids will hurt him no matter what. They'll skip from being little kids right to being adults. They might not remember their time here and it'll crush Harry so much. What Teddy brought up was true too. Even if they did remember...so what?

Tony still had Stark Industries. Clint and Natasha still had their jobs as agents. Thor needed to return to Asgard and he needs to take Loki with him, and Steve and Bruce need to find their way into the world once more...they all needed to go their own ways. They might reunite when trouble arises but for common things like an evening meal? No...not anymore.

They were heroes[in Loki's case a villain but still] it was a lonely thing. You hold respect and understanding for others like them but they don't share their past or a table...not without reason. And Harry doubted he was a good enough reason.

Harry let go of Teddy and they shared a sad glance. They had found a family in this place, despite the short amount of time, but said time was running out. They both turned when they heard a bout of laughter, then they looked back at each other. Nudging Teddy on the shoulder, Harry led his godson to the laughing children. Time was running down on their family, but they shouldn't mourn what yet wasn't there and instead cherish and enjoy the time they did have.

* * *

.:~*~:.

Draco was one of the best Potion Master to come out of Hogwarts after Snape himself. Madam Pomfrey ended up personally requesting his services because the outbreak in St. Mungos was getting worse, not better. That's what happens when you have a magical epidemic.

Hermione apologized as profoundly as she could but secretly Harry was a bit happy about having a few more days with the kids. Wild, demanding, loud as they may be...Harry's gotten attached. He doesn't want his little birds to fly away any time soon.

But he shouldn't have expected that day to be event free. His fears were confirmed as well.

The clouds darkened when they were previously blue but there was no storm coming. A flash of bright light and odd symbols on the ground and in the center of those symbols stood a single warrior. Her hair was dark and it made her blue eyes stand out. She was dressed in red and white armor and carried a shield and sword. All of this took place on the roof of Stark Tower with Harry and a few agents there waiting for the arrival while Teddy, on Harry orders, waited inside with the children.

Harry had ordered the agents to stand down and mentioned they needn't be there, but they had their ordered and stayed. Their weapons were lowered but still in hand.

Harry stood in front with the agents flanking him a few feet behind. Harry didn't want their mortal arrogance to get them into any unneeded dispute and ordered them to let him handle the conversation.

"Greetings mortal. Are you the one in charge?" the warrior asked.

Harry nodded and replied, "My name is Harry Potter. And I am in charge here. Who are you and why have you come?"

"I am Lady Sif of Asgard. I come on a quest specifically from the AllFather, Odin." Lady Sif answered.

Harry nodded and already guessed as to what that quest was, "You're here for Thor and Loki, aren't you?"

She seemed a bit surprised. Not really as his assumption but as his tone. Harry wasn't resisting or angry but...tired. "That is correct. Where are they?"

"They're safe. A few floors below us. I will show them to you but first I ask that we speak. The situation has changed from what it started out as...things have complicated. But I'll explain everything and answer any of your questions but please...let's talk." Harry begged quietly.

Lady Sif took a moment to examine Harry before nodding, "Where do you wish to speak?"

"Follow me. And don't mind them," Harry said as he pointed to the agents, "They're human. They're paranoid and a bit on edge."

"Are you not human?" she asked.

"I am but...I'm also a sorcerer," Harry replied as they made it to the lower levels. Not exactly to where the children where but still one of Tony's livable floors. They entered the living room where there was already a tray of tea waiting for them.

"A magic user on Midgard? I had heard stories but I thought it was mere tale." Lady Sif replied as she mimicked Harry and sat opposite him and prepared her own cup after inspecting what was before her.

"Regular mortals aren't prepared to know that they aren't alone so we remain hidden. Some know, of course, but mostly it's well hidden." Harry replied as he took a sip.

"Considering what happened not too long ago I can imagine. I can also imagine this was not a great way for mortals to find out," Lady Sif said.

Harry nodded, "Definitely not but now they know and we cannot do anything about it. But things have...complicated even more."

"You said that. And the AllFather did not mention any more specifics. He merely asked I come and retrieve Thor and Loki. What exactly happened after Loki's attack was stopped?" Lady Sif asked, placing her cup down and looking at Harry imploringly.

Harry placed his cup down as well, tea wasn't doing much for him right now, "In an attempt to escape or have one last laugh at our expense, Loki casted a spell. Since I am magic, it bounced off of me and hit him. But it affected him and Thor and all of the other heroes who helped stop him."

"Something has happened to my prince?" Sif gasped, a worried look on her features.

"Yes, but I assure you he is fine," Harry spoke quick to quell her worry.

"What exactly has happened?" she demanded softly.

"He's been deaged. They all have," Harry replied, equally as soft.

"De...deaged?" she asked.

Nodding, Harry replied, "All of them are various ages but they are all children. Lady Sif...I believe me and my friends can fix this. This was caused by magic and it can be cured by magic. I am not asking you to leave but please give us some time to fix it. Thor and Loki are being well taken care of I assure you."

Lady Sif abruptly stood up, "Take me to them at once, Sorcerer."

Harry looked up at her before sighing and standing up as well. He motioned for her to follow him as he led her to the lower level where the kids were. The children were kept as oblivious as possible but of course they figured something was wrong. When they entered the room, they had been watching cartoons on the television but they didn't seem too much into it. When the door opened they all immediately turned to look.

"They are..."

"They just children. They have no memories beyond the age they are now," Harry said quietly.

"Sorcerer?" Thor asked as he carefully approached, ever the brave one. Though it was also curiosity, Harry could tell. It didn't surprise Harry since Lady Sif wore Asgardian armor. What he was surprised to see was Thor's worried expression. The young blonde sent the glance towards his brother and Harry saw it too. The look of pain and betrayal Loki held. The young trickster god thought Harry had sent someone for them.

"We have a visitor. I will be speaking to Lady Sif in the kitchen. You're all to remain here. Though I do believe she will wish to speak to you and Loki, Thor." Harry smiled as he ruffled the young godlings Harry, "But no worried alright? I promised, remember?"

Thor looked between Harry and Lady Sif before staring at Harry with a hard gaze and then giving a hard nod, "Aye. We shall await here."

Harry nudged his head towards the kitchen with Lady Sif behind them.

"They truly do not remember their adult selves?" she asked.

"No." Harry replied.

"You are magic. Can you not reverse it?"

"I tried but it was magic done by a god. I'm only a single mortal wizard. I have friends who are coming to visit me. A healer with plenty of magic as well as a Potions Master. I have faith that together we can reverse this. All I need is time." Harry explained.

Lady Sif bit her lip, "My king and queen have waited long for the return of their sons. Thor is to be king and Loki...Loki but atone for his sins."

"I would agree but at the moment the Loki in that room is not the criminal who has sinned. He's a little boy who is proper and princely and is very kind." Harry said evenly.

"...I am ordered to bring them back. We have healers in Asgard. And as you said, a mortal may not be able to reverse this. In Asgard we might."

Harry crossed his arms and frowned, "Thor and Loki have parents. I cannot stop them from wanting their children but...is it really for the best? Just let them remain here until I fix things!"

"I cannot. Thor is the prince of our realm and is needed back. Now that I know of his vulnerability, the more I wish to take him towards safety."

"If Odin wishes for take his boys back he'll need to come and get them himself." Harry said.

"The AllFather is busy upholding Asgard. He cannot leave the throne, it would be foolish."

"He may be king but he is also a father, isn't he?" Harry challenge.

"He may be a father but he is also king. As a mere mortal, I do not expect you to understand. The adversaries of Asgard are always looking for kinks in our armor so to speak. A huge a kink as that would cause a travesty to my home. My loyalties to the royal family can never be doubted for I care for my home and it's princes which is why I was the choice the AllFather made."

"You didn't even know why you were here for until a few moments ago," Harry retorted.

"But the AllFather must have known and sent only someone he trusted for such a task," She replied and Harry saw the cold fire burning in her eyes.

"You're going to take them away?" it was more a statement than a question.

"Yes."

"I don't want you to," Harry said.

Her eyes softened a bit, "I sense you care for them sorcerer but they are not of this world. They need to return to their home."

"...allow me to say goodbye, please."

"I shall grant you that," Lady Sif said and they walked back into the living room. Harry's gaze was towards the ground.

"Teddy, please take every to their rooms. All but Thor and Loki."

There were man rebuttals and outburst but Harry looked up, his eyes stern, and red with a few tears threatening to fall free. The room was quiet and then the rest shuffled away towards the bedroom, minus Loki and Thor who were seating on the couch still. Harry approached them and knelt down to their level.

"You two...are awesome." he took each of their hands and sniffed as the urge to cry intensified. "You protect each other and stand up for each other so much it amazes me. You don't see that much in brothers so young...or of noble and royal descent. It's refreshing...you're both so strong...and good. You're so so good. Don't let anyone tell you different..."

"We are leaving?" Thor asked in a hushed whisper.

"I'm sorry...but yes. Your father has asked for the both of you," Harry replied.

Before Thor could say something Loki tore his hand away from Harry and stood up, "YOU LIAR!"

"Loki?" Harry asked in confusion.

"YOU PROMISED!" Loki yelled as he started to walk backwards from them, "YOU SAID I BELONGED HERE! YOU SAID I HAD A PLACE WITH YOU!"

"Loki please..."

"SHUT UP!" Loki yelled as tears ran down his cheeks, "I thought you were _different_! I thought you were _good_ and amazing! You made me believe I was _not_ a problem..."

"You're not!" Harry insisted.

"Then why are you handing me off to...an Asgardian!? You're just like everyone else! YOU'RE PASSING ME ON! JUST LIKE FATHER!" Loki ran off after he yelled that.

"LOKI!" Harry called out as he ran after the mischief god.

Sif stood there, shocked, until Thor tugged on her arm, "Did father really send for us?"

"Yes," Sif replied as she got her wits about her once more.

"What about our illness?"

"We have plenty of healers more than fully capable of curing this...illness, in Asgard my dear prince," Lady Sif replied with a smile as she crouched down to be Thor's height.

"But the sorcerer...he is powerful. I have seen it! He has sworn to have allies who can help cure us here...please, may we stay?" Thor asked silently.

"My young prince...the AllFather and my queen are deeply worried for you and wish to have you returned," Lady Sif said.

"Oh," Thor said as he looked down at his feet for a moment before looking back, "Must we both go?"

"My prince?" Lady Sif asked.

"I understand that father wishes for our return but you do not understand. Brother is happy here. I have never seen him so...happy." Thor looked in the direction where Loki went, "I thought he was happy before but being here I realized that he was not. Not as much as here. Here he laughs and he makes jokes and not the mischievous kind! Since being here he has not pulled a single prank and he is very happy!" he looked down at his feet and whispered, "I do not wish for that to cease. He confides in the sorcerer who has taken very good care of us thus far. He accepted all of us into his family though we are all different! I will go home if father really wishes but please M'Lady...may Loki stay?"

Lady Sif heard young Thor's pleas with a bit of an astonishment. For the information on Loki for one thing. Since a young child, Loki was nothing but mischievous. And second was that Thor, though she adored him, was always arrogant as a child. Something that did not change until his banishment to Midgard. And thirdly... "Do you not wish to leave my prince?"

Thor bit his lip and moved from foot to foot, "No...I do not wish it, but if Loki may stay if I do, I will do it."

"What is it about this place that has the both of you...enthralled?" Lady Sif asked.

Thor took a minute to ponder before he replied, "It feels like home."

* * *

.:~*~:.

Harry caught up to Loki a few halls down and grabbed his arm, "Loki, please! I want you to stay! I do!"

"Then why have you ordered for an Asgardian to come retrieve us!" Loki demanded.

"I didn't. But it was bound to happen, you know that. You and your brother are princes of a realm of a powerful king. He was bound to send for you because he cares." Harry tried to reason.

"He cares for Thor! Not me! I do not want to go!" He turned and hugged Harry's middle as tightly as he could and sobbed into Harry's abdomen.

Harry picked Loki up in an embrace and held him close while Loki clung on, both of them crying. "Loki, you know I care for you and your brother. I wish you could stay...but Loki...you have a real family and they want you back...I'm sorry..."

"I don't wish to go Harry...I'm happy _here_..." Loki cried into the crook of Harry's neck.

* * *

.:~*~:.

Harry and Loki walked back into the room where Lady Sif and Thor were waiting, eyes red and still somewhat crying. Loki was holding onto Harry's hand tightly and Harry didn't mind.

"I apologize for my previous behavior. It was not princely of me and I seek forgiveness M'Lady. I will go willingly and without hassle." Loki whispered somberly.

"It won't be necessary my prince," Lady Sif replied.

Both Harry and Loki raised their head with wide shocked eyes.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"I have seen and heard much of this place from young Thor. It seems to be good for the young princes. I...I will go home and report this to the AllFather of course but...I believe it would do more harm than good to have them removed from here...until they are cured of course." Lady Sif said.

"We may stay?" Loki asked with hope.

"For now. I will return and most likely soon," Lady Sif told Harry.

Harry nodded, "Of course." He wiped his eyes and picked up Loki who smiled brightly and hugged the wizards. Harry opened up his free arm and Thor ran to him immediately. He smiled up at his brother and the wizard and hugged him around the middle.

"You are good to them. I am glad," Lady Sif replied.

"That's because _they_ are good." Harry replied easily and Lady Sif did not sense any trick or lie from him.

"I will take my leave now. I shall return. Keep them safe sorcerer...for your own good," she threatened him though her voice was light.

Harry didn't take it personally and merely nodded. He allowed the agents to be the ones to guide her back to the roof. There was another non-real storm and a blinding flash.

The three of them stayed together like that for a moment before Harry placed Loki on the floor and went for the others in the kid's room.

"Dad?" Teddy asked and the others anxiously waited.

Harry grinned, "Come on. We still have a few more movies to watch. _Lilo and Stitch_ is next."

"What about Loki and Thor?" Clint asked.

"They're waiting for all you so, lets go," Harry answered. They smiled and laughed and made their way to the living room. Some of the agents brought them some snacks and the movie started, all of them watching together.

Near the end of the movie, a single line from a lonely alien summarized what Harry was feeling for a few days now.

" _This is my family. It is little and broken...but still good. Yeah...still good."_


	13. Agent and Jarvis

It was about an hour after Harry had placed the kids to bed that all of the lights seemingly everywhere blinked on. There was an odd sound that reminded Harry of a computer being booted up.

Getting out of bed and into his shoes, Harry got a feel of his magic to make sure it was awake and ready for just about anything.

Leaving his room and entering the living room he saw an agent he never seen before. He wore the standard S.H.I.E.L.D uniform, minus the sunglasses given the time of day, or rather night. He had a few bruises and was bandaged in a few places Harry could see. And though he seemed to move easily, Harry's trained eye saw that he was stiff, letting him know he had a bigger injury, assuming around his abdomen or chest area.

"Ah, Mr. Potter. Did I wake you?" the agent asked.

"Yeah...I mean, no. Unless you're the one making that noise?" Harry asked, still wary of the new comer, injured or no.

"Well it wasn't technically me but I did authorize for J.A.R.V.I.S to be reactivated." the agent replied.

"Jarvis?" Harry echoed.

" _Operating at 100%. It is good to see you are mostly well Agent Coulson. But may I ask why Mr. Stark and the other Avengers are...children?"_ an invisible, British voice came from nowhere and everywhere at once.

Harry jumped and began to flare his magic, "Please calm down Mr. Potter. Jarvis is simply Mr. Stark's AI. We deactivated him when you took up residency here with the children."

Harry forced himself to look calm, but he didn't really feel it. "AI?"

"Think Google but far better and Stark-afied." the agent replied dryly.

" _I am far more than that but thank you for simplifying me so much, Agent Coulson."_ the supposed computer replied rather sarcastically, too human for Harry to think this was a computer system.

"Um...okay?" Harry said uncertainly. Unsure on how to reply to that Harry decided to ignore the system and instead he furrowed his brow and asked the agent, "Why?"

"Why what?" the agent asked.

Harry scoffed, "Don't play the dumb game, agent. It belittles all of S.H.I.E.L.D."

The agent smirked a bit, "Even so, you'll have to be more specific, Mr. Potter."

"Alright, we can start with something simple. Who are you?" Harry asked.

"My name is Agent Coulson. And to answer your next question I work...er, worked, with Agents Romanoff and Barton frequently before this happened. I was their handler."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "And why are you here now?" though he knew these agents were still human and theoretically capable of human feeling and growing attached to others it wasn't something outwardly expressed. Harry suspected this tactical answer was a disguise for just being closer to the kids who used to be agents who could have been friends.

Still, Harry was wary because his parental instincts were acting up and it was too soon after the visit from Asgard. Clint and Natasha may be human but they were still special and god knows what sort of underhanded experiments they might be subjected to if taken from him. Even if it was by their supposed handler.

"To activate Stark's AI," Coulson replied easily.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Yes, you've said that. But why? Why _now_?"

The agent sighed and one of Tony's holo-screens activated and showed him Pepper's profile, "Ms. Potts is on her way and will be arriving in the morning. It'll just be easier to have Jarvis awake to quell her once she's here. Our word she'll doubt, his he'll believe."

Harry furrowed his brow, "Last I check Ms. Potts was civilian."

"She still is," Coulson replied with a nod of confirmation.

"Then as a government official can't you just order her to stay away?" Harry asked like it was the most obvious thing.

"Normally yes, but not this time. She's Mr. Stark's...well, lets just say that she's special to him."

"Then don't you think it'll be odd to see someone 'special' turned back into a child? I think and recommend you hold her off until he's changed back."

"And when will that be Mr. Potter?" Coulson's tone demanded though it was in a form of a question.

"As soon as I have better resources, _agent_." Harry hissed out.

Coulson ignored Harry's tone and replied, "Ms. Potts is CEO of _Stark Industries_ and is basically in second in command of anything _Stark_ next to Mr. Stark himself. She has access in places we do not and can be very adamant about things...especially if Mr. Stark is involved. And if allowing her to be near Mr. Stark in these... _peculiar_ circumstances allows us access to certain things she can access that we can't...well, we believe it's a good trade off. "

"So she'll be here." Harry said.

Coulson nodded, "By morning. We'll have just enough time to meet her down stairs and fill her in on what she needs to know before the kids wake up."

"It's not easy to take in the fact that Earth was attacked by actual _aliens_. How is she going to take that her... _special person_ , was turned into a six year old and doesn't remember her?"

"We'll find out tomorrow," Coulson said.

"You're a riot a parties, aren't you agent?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"Ms. Potts has been around Mr. Stark long enough to... _accept_ this level of...oddness. Even after a very short amount of time." Coulson gave Harry, in the wizard's opinion, a creepy little smile as he said that.

"If that was your attempt at a sincere smile, I'd prefer you not smile." Harry deadpanned. "And even if she does take it well enough, do you really intend for her to meet Tony? He won't remember her."

"If she insist, we'll give her the best warning we can," Coulson replied, ignoring Harry's smiling comment.

Harry frowned, "I'm sure Ms. Potts is a nice lady but my worries aren't about her. Tony's a really smart kid. It's hard enough convincing him of an _illness_ that he doesn't really have. Right now he's eating up the attention he didn't get as a child and letting things around him pass, but I have noticed things."

"What sort of things?" Coulson asked.

"I've noticed that _he_ notices." Harry replied easily, "Tony's a genius. He can see and understand things that even some adults don't. If she can't properly restrain her reactions he'll notice something. He'll think there's something wrong with him and I can't let that happen. I swore to protect these kids...even from people who love them. I don't think we should let her in."

"...I agree with you Mr. Potter. But I'm not the one in charge." Coulson replies.

"Fury's authorizing this?" Harry asked incredulously.

"He...thinks you need help," Coulson replied easily.

"He has agents here helping. What more can he want?" Harry demanded.

"You're only one person Mr. Potter. Even if you're a wizard, you're still human. We're worried you're spread a little bit too thin," Coulson replied.

"That was nice Agent. Now how about we try again, this time with the truth, okay?" Harry matched Coulson's earlier tone and silently demanded rather than asked though it was in the form of a question.

"Mr. Potter-" Coulson began.

"I'd be careful with your next words Agent. If they aren't the truth or helping your case, I can have you teleported all the way to Siberia and I'll take the kids with me to the wizarding world and disappear if I don't like your next statement. I may be weary and have been deprived of sleep but that's not new and I can still hold my own, especially against muggles. One of the things I know Fury wants is more information about me so here's something he should have all of you jot down and remember very clearly. I don't like bullies. I don't like power hungry, greedy, powerful government officials who think they know what's better for everyone throwing orders around and disregarding those affected.

"I am also loyal to those who need help and are placed in my care and are under my protection." Harry said passionately. "So...let's try this again Agent. What more does Fury want?"

Coulson tensed ever so slightly but his face remained passive as he locked stares with Harry. Harry himself didn't look away nor did he back down. Though his magic was ready he wasn't showing animosity or was overly threatening towards Coulson. As a soldier in his own right, Harry Potter always held a bit of a threat in him, but he didn't want Coulson to think he was threatening him, but warning him.

"You're different from all others Mr. Potter," was Coulson's reaction. He then moved to sit down. Taking that as a good sign that he will at least be heard and possible negotiations might take place, Harry sat across the agent and fixed himself a cup of coffee seeing as that was what the agent had laid out on the coffee table.

"And exactly how many magic users have you met that weren't trying to kill someone or trying to take over the world?" Harry asked with a bit of sarcasm.

"Surprisingly few," Coulson answered. "I apologize not having tea set out but it's been stressful and coffee is preferred."

"Some teas have just as much caffeine but we all have our likes and a good cup of Joe is good every once in a while," Harry replied as he took a sip. He silently analyzed the agent before him. Coulson was showing a lot of vulnerability right now. Making his wounds more apparent and disclaiming that he needed his coffee to run. Harry has seen negotiation tactics like this. By giving something himself it should make Harry feel inclined to contribute something as well. But Harry didn't think it was that. Mentally frowning Harry decided that his earlier speech caused Coulson to target his Hero Complex and using pity to get what he wants.

"You said you needed resources?" Coulson baited.

Placing his cup on the table Harry ran a hand through his hair, "I've made calls. It's just not easy getting here."

"Oh?"

Harry rolled his eyes, "You may not know the difference between myth and fact when it comes to actual wizards but you know politics, Agent."

"Politics are in place here?" Coulson asked.

Harry sighed and nodded. "I can't tell you everything but you already seem to know some things and since one of those things just so happens to be our existence it makes it a bit easier. Look Agent, there are some wizard families that can be traced really far back, but there are also wizards and witches born into regular families who have no magical ties whatsoever. But we're still human, as you've stated. We're all born into a country who has its own governments. We're not uncivilized monsters...er, well...every species has their psychopaths I suppose. But anyway, my point is magic is really just like an additional skill set but we still live normal lives. We go to school, we get jobs, we love, get married, and continue the cycle, just like everyone else."

"You're just handled by a different government." Coulson stated.

"Just like you handle the weird and abnormal here in the states," Harry said.

"Is there another agency we should know about?" Coulson asked.

"I'm not a politician. I wouldn't know." Harry stated as he and Coulson locked eyes in another staring contest.

"But you're a hero. One of the biggest of all time. Surely you must know something." Coulson reminded him.

"I was raised and trained to fight a specific villain. I did and now I try to stay out of the field as much as I can," Harry replied.

"And yet you immediately jumped in to help when Loki attacked." Coulson said.

"From childhood I was raised to be the hero, it was engraved into me as a whole. I know I have a horrible Hero Complex, it's no mystery." Harry replied calmly. "I saw people in danger and so I acted."

"You must know something though." Coulson repeated.

"I do," Harry said with a bit of a smirk.

"But you won't tell me." Coulson said.

"For the same reason you can't tell me certain things Agent. It's nothing personal, it's just patriotic loyalty." Harry said as he finally broke their eye contact to take another sip from his coffee and lean back into the couch.

"You're in America," Coulson said.

"But not a citizen. I'm still pretty much British. But even if I was made an American citizen there are things I can't tell you." Harry said.

"Oh and why not?" Coulson asked.

"The same reason it's taking my resources much longer to get here," Harry said.

"Our surveillance says that epidemics have held your friends back," Coulson said.

"That's only my healer friend but she will still need clearance. The others who are...more in their prime need permission." Harry said.

"From?"

"Aliens were just proven real. The order of things was just turned upside down. Muggles now know that they aren't alone." Harry said seriously.

"The magical societies are planning on revealing themselves?" Coulson asked, more alert now.

"I didn't say that but I'm sure there are some who believe now may be the time to do so while others believe the exact opposites and want to tighten security. The governments are very wary and are being very careful of any magic users going in and out of their control. America, as you can imagine is a hot zone right now." Harry explained.

"So every country has magic users and governments?"

"...as I said before Agent, we are human with magic just being another skill set. The form of government in the country typically reflects the muggle government system that's in place in that country. I'm a wizard but I'm still British. I hold the Queen in high regards just as I'm sure any possible magical being in this country celebrates the 4th of July and holds high regards for the Commander and Chief."

"You're far more talkative Mr. Potter," Coulson commented.

"I can't get information without giving it, can't I? That's the game played these days, isn't it?" Harry replied.

Coulson smirked a little and gave a nod, "I suppose this is where I answer your basic questions now?"

Harry thought for a moment. He picked up his cup and looked intently at it and during that time drank three long sips.

"I've answered some basic questions but those are answers that until now you could only guess at. But like I stated before, I'm not a politician. I'd like to make a trade of me asking questions since...I really don't care for this political game you or Fury are interested in playing."

"And what do you want in return?" Coulson asked carefully.

"A favor." Harry replied simply.

"What sort of favor?" Coulson inquired.

"Keep Ms. Potts from coming here," Harry said.

"...it won't be easy," Coulson said as he set down his coffee.

"Neither is taking care of two gods, two geniuses, one who happens to have quite the double personality if he gets angry enough and the other is just as narcissistic as a child as he was as an adult, two master assassins, and a kid who is a super soldier from the 30-40's who are all now miniaturized. But hey, I can manage and in comparison this favor should be a cake walk," Harry deadpanned.

"I can buy you a few days before Ms. Potts eventually gets her way in here. Either through us or by Jarvis." Coulson said.

"Can't you just shut him off?" Harry asked.

"Yes but we'd rather not." Coulson replied.

"Why not?"

"Jarvis is a powerful system. With all that's going on he can come in handy. During these days that we try to keep Ms. Potts from here we will try to get her to use Jarvis as much as we can and as much as she allows in the clean up," Coulson explained.

"And he needs to be activated within the tower to work?" Harry asked.

"It's the only place weak enough for us to hack at the moment and the least likely option for Mr. Stark to retaliate for messing with his toys once he's restored to normal." Coulson answered.

Harry nodded, "Alright..."

Coulson stood up, "It's getting late and I shouldn't be keeping you from your much needed hours of sleep. It was just easier to have this conversation without the little ones running around."

"Right." Harry nodded slowly as he too got up.

"Leave all of this here. It'll be cleaned up by the time you wake up." Coulson said as extended his hand to Harry.

Harry shook the agents hand, "This AI...it's basically like a person?"

"Think Mr. Stark's cyber butler. He's here to help in any way he can. You know have access to anything on the internet, most files you can ask for, and any operating fast food delivery services Mr. Stark is fond of."

"Will it realize Tony's condition and know not to mention anything it's not supposed to?" Harry asked.

" _Agents in another room have briefed me on the situation, sir. I know I am not to inform Ms. Potts on Mr. Stark's current condition though she is constantly calling his cell as well as trying to reach me. I was created by Mr. Stark to help him and I will continue to do so. I am at your disposal and happy to help any way I can to get Mr. Stark back to normal...or as closest as to that definition that Mr. Stark can be."_

"It has humor...I can totally believe Tony made him," Harry said to Coulson then looked to the ceiling, "Thank you...er, Jarvis. And yes, for now it's in Tony's best interest to keep outside influences away. Though Ms. Potts may be worried I believe it's best to keep her in the dark just a bit longer."

" _Of course sir."_

"And with that, I'll take my leave. I'll be back to check in as soon as needed. In the mean time, please try to get your resources here as soon as possible to fix this. The sooner we get this fixed the sooner we can all finally get a good night's sleep." Coulson said.

Harry scoffed, "After all the aliens and monsters and oddities we deal with, Agent, I think a good night's sleep is the most mythical thing either of us has ever heard."

Coulson gave that infamous smirk of his and nodded, "I won't argue with you on that Mr. Potter. Goodnight."

"Night, Agent." Harry said as he watched Coulson leave.

Once the agent was gone, Harry collapsed onto the couch and gave a deep sigh while rubbing his tired eyes.

" _Is everything alright sir?"_

"No Jarvis...not really." Harry replied weakly.

" _It is a rather stupid question to ask. Anyone with proper eyesight can tell you haven't rested properly in some time. Both your heart rate and blood pressure seem a bit high. I suggest going to sleep and if you can, sleep in as long as you can and then have a big hearty breakfast."_

"Merlin, you sounds like a lot of women in my life. And as much as I'd love to, I have seven kids and a teenager to wake up and cook for." Harry replied.

" _I can have breakfast arranged to be sent over in the morning so you may rest, sir. You look like you can fall over any minute."_

"I can handle myself just fine Jarvis...but the breakfast delivery might not be a bad idea."

" _Go ahead and order for 8:00 AM delivery?"_

"Yes please. And set the alarm for me at 7 will you?" Harry asked as he ran his hand through his hair again. Standing up he stretches and yawns loudly.

" _I'd recommend sleeping in to at least 9, sir."_

"And who will watch the kids?" Harry asked.

" _I have been told there are capable agents on duty, sir. And some of them have spoken highly of your godson and his influences on the children. And from the surveillance tapes I see the children worry about your health as well and would most likely agree on letting you sleep in. Probably until noon."_

"Sleeping until noon is crazy. Wake me up at 7:45 AM then."

" _In that case I suggest a mid-day nap sir. Your vitals are a bit alarming,"_

"Did Tony intentionally invent you to be a nanny?" Harry deadpanned.

" _No, sir. But I learn each and every day and over the years I have learned to properly advise Mr. Stark so I can easily take care of advising you, Mr. Potter."_

"You don't even know me." Harry said tiredly.

" _No, but you care greatly for Mr. Stark in his vulnerable time and you do not expect anything in return. I only want to look after the kind man who's taking good care of my creator."_

" _..._ Goodnight Jarvis." Harry said after a while as he walked towards his room.

" _Goodnight sir. Pleasant dreams."_


	14. Infiltration, Danger, and Captivity

The next time Harry woke up was actually at 1PM. He felt that heavy, lazy tiredness from his body that one gets after working out for the first time in a long time and your muscles remember that they could hurt in places you didn't think could hurt. When he reached for his glasses and donned them on he looked at the clock in the nightstand and noticed the time. "Bloody hell!" he exclaimed as he jumped up and left his room to check on the others.

Standing in the living room's doorway in his nightshirt and sweatpants, hair standing at all ends, Harry expected chaos, disaster, and debris. What he got instead was Teddy playing goldfish with Natasha, Bruce, and Steve. Clint and Tony using the television to continue whatever video game they were playing with Thor on the side munching away on popcorn. Loki on the couch with his magic book in front of him and wand in hand quietly practicing his levitation spell.

"Hey...look who's up!" Teddy cheerfully stated as he craned his neck to see his father. "There's pizza and Chinese take out in the fridge." he said before turning back to his game.

"Everyone is alright?" Harry asked, voice still somewhat laced with sleepiness but more so confusion.

"Why wouldn't we be?" Teddy asked without looking away from his cards.

"I...why did you let me sleep so late?..why didn't my alarm go off? Why-" Harry asked in a daze as he tried to wake up fully. Maybe he was still asleep?

"You needed sleep. We all saw that. So we let you sleep. We turned off your alarms too. It wasn't hard." Natasha said as she rearranged some of her cards in her hand.

"Yeah, Natasha and I snuck into your room and switched off the alarm option on the clock on your nightstand," Clint chimed in.

"Teddy used magic to summon your calling device to make sure that wouldn't wake you either," Loki said as he placed down his wand, and with it the objects he'd been levitating.

"And then the AI easily agreed not to wake you...you really must have been tired if you slept until one. We thought for sure you'd be awake by noon," Tony said as he paused the game to look at Harry properly and then he laughed, "Your hair looks funny."

The others stopped what they're doing to look at Harry and there were some giggles and chuckles of agreement. Harry blushed some as he tried, ever in vain, to tame his hair but he doubted it did much. "You are all against me..." but he yawned and shook his head with a grin. Everyone was fine, getting along, and fed. Nothing was on fire, or soaked, or broken. That was a good way to wake up, he thought as he headed to the kitchen for something to eat.

"We love you too, pops." Teddy called out and everyone resumed with their activities. Harry joining them shortly as he sits on the couch next to Loki, shortly joined by Thor, and as everyone continues to do what they were doing, Harry beings one of his tales as per request. Not any of his daring tales of danger, but some lighter tone ones like the mischief he and his friends would get into. Like using his father's cloak of invisibility to sneak off to places he wasn't allowed to go.

* * *

**.:~*~:.**

Harry sighed as he tossed the latest copy of _The Prophet_ [US edition]onto his desk as he slumped back.

"That can't be good." Teddy said as he entered his father's temporary study. A few more days passed and during that time as Harry tried to communicate with Hermione, or anyone for that matter, but no one would pick up.

Harry picked up the paper again and passed it over so Teddy could read it. Opening it up properly and looking at the front page, Teddy let out an, "Oh...no word from home?"

"No...at this rate, not only do I think it'll be a prolonged stay here in the tower by us...I'm fearing you may not be able to make it back to Hogwarts in time..." Harry said as he sat up straight in his chair.

Teddy tensed a bit at the seriousness of the matter as he placed the paper down on the desk again. He was quiet for a moment before he shrugged and said, "Many kids get taken out for privet tutoring...I heard a lot of it happened when Voldemort began rising again...muggleborns and even some half-bloods or 'traitors' took their kids out for safety...sides, if it takes longer for people to come over, you're gonna need me here to help either way...I wouldn't leave you or them."

Harry smiled at his son a bit before he began to frown and reread the front page, " **U.S. CLOSES IT'S BORDERS!**

_Due to rising protesters with good intentions but bad choice in actions, the governments fear for the safety of its civilians. Both the magical and muggle kind. Dangers of other worldly matters still exist and there are plenty of questions left unanswered. With the increasing dangers of being discovered, the reactions we have gathered already, have us in high alarm. There are also organizations like The Rising Tide, The Avengers, and S.H.I.E.L.D out there but what do they know? What to they intend? Harry Potter was last see-"_

Harry stopped reading as he sighed again, "Wait, no, I finally did get in contact with Hermione this morning. Sorry...brain's all scattered. There have been attacks in other places, but the magical activity set of various alarms...and apparently some of those who believe now is the time to show ourselves to the muggles decided to act. Fortunately or unfortunately, the way it turned out, the muggles just believe it to be a terrorist attack. Which set off protests just about everywhere and well...riots and chaos...with all the American Magical Society already has to deal with they decided that closing off the borders for the time being was it's best choice...can't say I disagree...people are panicking. They want answers..."

"Who doesn't?" Teddy asked as he took a seat in one of the empty chairs laying about.

"I'm going to write to Kingsley and Hermione, sending a letter to all Magical societies with my name...giving them some leeway and some...comfort? Let them know that someone has some answers...it should help calm people down some." he said with a shake of his head.

"Well...if anyone's word is to be taken without question it would be yours. Though...it'll put you in the spotlight again." Teddy said in a bit of a warning.

Harry sighed, "I know...but..."

"A hero has to do, what a hero has to do," Teddy filled in for him. Harry just smiled a bit, though it didn't reach his eyes, and nodded in agreement.

Taking out a quill and parchment, he began to write.

* * *

**.:~*~:.**

Later that evening Harry called Agent Coulson, knowing he was in connection with Fury and Maria since he couldn't get a hold of them two. Coulson came to visit the tower personally. This time he allowed himself to be seen by the kids, but like expected, no one recognized him.

Harry didn't miss the sadness in the agent's eyes at that. He supposed it was rather painful to see someone who you were close with, and being S.H.I.E.L.D agents, it was probably the closest they had to family, and not be recognized...he remembered how torn up Hermione was about the possibility of never seeing her parents again, though they wouldn't remember her if something did happen to her. That thought did cause the usually strong Hermione to waver some.

He told the kids to continue painting, it was Steve's turn to pick an activity and he liked art, so this evening they were all artist. Of course it seemed that a bath would be needed because the canvases, intended or not, ended up being all of their bodies as well as the paper. Motioning Coulson to the kitchen, Harry cleared his throat but the agent beat him to speaking.

"They seem happy."

"I'm trying my best to keep them like that until we can cure them," Harry responded.

"I'm glad it was you who took them in," Coulson said as he held his hands behind his back, "I know we seem heartless and up to something...I read your file and I don't blame you for the suspicion...there are agents who do good for not so good reasons but me? I want to protect and help those who can't protect themselves...but then that pegs the question...who protects the protectors? They would have been fine but the curiosity of some scientist and the possible danger they give would...they wouldn't be as happy as they are now." Coulson was looking through the door to the kids, "Romanoff is actually laughing...I mean, I know she's capable of it but a sincere laugh with no ulterior motives behind it? Never thought I'd see that in my lifetime..."

"Agent?" Harry spoke to bring the agent back who seemed to be in a far off place.

Coulson shook his head to snap out of his thoughts, "You said you had news?"

"I uh...yeah...Some of the muggle terrorist attacks you may be seeing were cover ups for magical protests gone wrong. Things aren't dying down, they're heating up." Harry began.

"Oh dear...that is not good." Coulson nodded, far more focused than he was a few seconds ago.

"No, but the magical governments are getting things under control. One of my closest friends was asked to come in and comment...though inconvenient to us...the right move for the sake of muggle and magical civilians...or anyone really." Harry said.

"And what might that inconvenience be?" Coulson inferred.

"Closing the borders...for the time being and until further notice, unless of true emergencies and clearance, no one is allowed out of their country. Or more specifically, America being the hot zone, no one is allowed in here unless authorized."

"I don't suppose any healers that may help in getting the Avengers back to normal may get clearance?" Coulson asked hopefully.

Harry shook his head solemnly, "Right now only government and military officials have clearance and the only one of my friends who has said clearance is needed for negotiations elsewhere..."

He sighed before he looked at the others through the door and smiled slightly, "Well...I don't think they'll mind."

Harry matched his glance and grinned a bit himself, "No, I don't think they will...I'm giving them my story, modified for children of course, and they want to know how it ends. Now it looks like they'll find out."

"It hasn't...not yet." Coulson commented.

"I haven't done much worth reading about," Harry countered.

"Helping fight aliens and taking care of the greatest heroes in their younger forms isn't worth reading about? Well...I should ask you for a book list recommendation because obviously I'm reading the wrong books." Coulson said with a grin.

Harry chuckled, "Okay..okay...perspective wise...I see your point."

"I should get going," Coulson said.

"Already? We were going to order dinner. Wouldn't you like to stay?" Harry ask. He knew the agent had been doing his job before and really, after the initial greeting, and admittedly a good nights rest, Harry could see that Coulson was a good guy and easy to get along with. There was also something about the other's sad smile that made Harry...he wasn't sure what. There was a nagging feeling.

"I'd like that, I would, but I have my orders...I have a team of my own and we have work to do. Strange things are still happening and we need some footing on the ground." Coulson replied but gave Harry a smile in gratitude for wanting to include him.

Nodding, Harry said, "Right. Well...wherever you go, keep a look out for protests...there may or may not be more to them than meets the eye."

"Will do. We'll keep in touch, Potter," Coulson said as he headed towards the exit.

Harry watched him go until the elevator's door closed. Then he turned back towards the kids and resumed their painting until the Chinese food arrived. They ate as they watched _The Road to El Dorado._ After the movie was over, Harry, Teddy, and a few of the Agents helped the kids bathe. The boys all got in together and it was messy and loud and splashy. Once the boys were done a female agent helped Natasha with her bath. Once they were all cleaned, changed for sleeping, and were told a bed time story, the second task in the TwiWizard Tournament, it didn't take long for them to pass out and sleep.

For the next two months Harry and Teddy were kept busy in ways they didn't expect. Harry would leave for a few hours a day to attend meetings with the American Council as the British Ambassador. The Avenger's age problem was placed on the back burner as the politics of the both the wizarding world and the muggle world heated up. Aside from consulting in those meeting, Harry had to do various meetings through magical communication while reporting back to the Ministry. Fury wasn't too happy about the world's mightiest heroes situation being placed on hold but in a sense he understood. The last thing he wanted was to start some sort of magical war after barely getting past an intergalactic one. He did ask to be brought into the loop of things and actually got to sit in on one or two of the meetings.

It was also decided that Teddy would take the year off from Hogwarts. Even if he was allowed passage back to England, Harry was too wired up to let Teddy go back without him. Once everything calmed down, the borders reopened, and they fixed the Avengers and they went on with their lives, Harry would move back to be close to Teddy. But for the year to come, Harry would home school him. Not only was it for protection, but it was also a bit selfish of Harry too. This was what he sort of wanted with Sirius but never had...time with him. Spending so much family time with the Avengers made Harry realize just how little family time he and Teddy had since Teddy started school and Harry 'wanting out of the limelight.'

They made plans...they would travel...they would camp under thousands of stars, go to old pubs, famous land marks, not so well known landmarks...everything he and Sirius said they'd do but never got to.

In those two months, Harry hadn't seen heard much from Agent Coulson. Two phone calls actually. And they were only a few minutes long to see how they were. Agent was a busy man, with the job of setting order to this chaotic world...and still called to check in. Had they met sooner, Harry was sure they'd be friends.

* * *

**.:~*~:.**

On the day that Lady Sif had come to try and take Thor and Loki away, it had been cloudy and ominous. The winds howled lowly, there weren't any birds flying, dread and unease filled Harry. Today started the opposite. It had been a really good day. And how Harry learned to hate stories that began with 'it had been a normal day'...cos that day went to shit.

Tony's breakfast machine had been set up a week ago and the kids still love using it. When the machine suggested a particular plate, the kid's eyes would bright up and jump in excitement. Claiming that was exactly what they wanted. The kids were happy with their 'magic' food, Harry was glad because the kids ate, and Tony was proud he could make so many people happy.

After breakfast Harry took the kids to the park along with Teddy's help and some of the agents too. He pushed them on the swings, made the merry-go-round spin, watched as some titter tottered, ran up and down the slides, and ran around playing tag and other variations like freeze tag. There was a bit of a snag when Loki mistook the game literally and froze Clint's leg.

Harry quickly thawed Clint's leg and suggested they'd head back for some hot cocoa. Loki apologized and thought it was part of the game. Clint though shook it off and said 'it was cool' to which Tony and Teddy laughed at.

Teddy began his homeschooling early. Harry would instruct things he remembered learning in his fourth year. The kids all sat and watched (and cheered) Teddy as he concentrated and tried to mimic his dad's movements.

It was just as they were cleaning up that the lights went off. Everyone stood up and began to rile up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa...everyone stay calm. Teddy...Loki...think you guys can give us some light?" Harry asked since he had technically given his wand to Loki and he didn't want anyone yet to know he still had the Elder wand.

Teddy and Loki raised their wands and simultaneously said, "Lumos!" The tips of their wands ignited and Harry counted the faces he saw and sighed in relief when he saw all eight.

"Okay...you guys stay here while I go see what's wrong, okay?" Harry said and got nods and 'okay's'.

"Do you want to take one of our wands?" Teddy asked, not liking the idea of his dad being unarmed.

Harry didn't know why, but suddenly a horrible wave of unease overcame him. And it was more powerful than the one when Asgard came to visit. The kids being together and having two wands with them made him feel a bit better. So he shook his head, "Nah...I'll only be a moment."

In retrospect, Harry should have been more careful with his words. Though it didn't matter how careful he was, that infamous Potter Luck always seemed to find him no matter how far he ran.

When he walked into the kitchen to try to find some flashlights or an agent or someone, he was ambushed. He was pushed onto his back and then kicked onto his stomach as someone grabbed his hands and placed them behind his back. Panic and adrenaline coursed through his body as he yelled, "TEDDY! PORTKEY!"

He would elaborate but he was punched in the face and he heard, "Secure the brats."

Harry was fighting back as hard as he could but whoever had him was bigger and stronger. The lights flickered on and the first thing he saw was an angry Coulson who punched the guy holding him. Or he thought that was what happened. He didn't have a good view.

Other guys came running at Coulson and he took them on too. He yelled off to the side, "Get the kids outta here!" To who? Harry wasn't sure but didn't think too much on it. He got to his feet the moment he could and began to help Coulson by using wandless magic to confuse and disarm their attackers. There was an explosion from the living room where the kids were in, yelling, and then Harry felt a buzzing/electrifying sensation. He saw Coulson have the same seizure effect he was feeling and he realized what happened. They'd been tazered.

He was losing consciousness, his vision going dark, mind was hard to focus. Last thing he saw was them tying up Coulson and begin to drag him away. Then he felt the cuffs on him too. The last thing he heard before he passed out were two simple but terrifying words he wouldn't forget any time soon, "Hail H.Y.D.R.A."


	15. Politics and Team Ups

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't strictly following Agents of SHIELD plots, so I'm taking big liberties with them. BUT there are spoilers for the show. But not recent ones because I'm not caught up.

*One Month Prior*

 

Harry met Hills and Fury at the entrance and used the elevator to head to a different floor from where the children were using. Though it was offered to have these meetings on a SHIELD base, Harry didn't like being away from the children too long. He also liked the advantage that Jarvis, under Older Tony's orders, kept whatever happened in that room secret. Any devices brought in by outsiders didn't work until out of the building. How? Harry wasn't sure but he was thankful. 

With the help of some of the agents he manually moved in a mirror into one of the conference rooms. With Loki's and Teddy's help, he enchanted it to be a communication mirror, which was used to communicate with various people. 

Earlier Harry had a discussion with Hermione about updates from the Ministry of Magic. Today Fury, Hill, and himself will be updating the American Magical Society about what is going on in some parts of Europe and what actions needed to be done. 

"What's the latest from Europe?" Fury asked as he and Hill took a seat across from Harry. 

The room they were in was that like an office in corporate. There was a rectangular table big enough for about a dozen people. There was a bookshelf, another smaller rectangular table full of morning/breakfast foods. Water bottles, coffee pot with sugar and cream on the side. Muffins, scones, and different fruits. It was set up as a courtesy but they usually ignored it unless the meeting ran longer than they expected because of an issue that was too pressing to not stick around and discuss at length.  

"Normally, explaining the Statue of Secrecy kind of goes against all that it stands for, but because of the times we live in, we don't have a choice. I've explained how it came to be and how it has still done a lot to keep more chaos from breaking out." Harry said. From his place he could see that notebook Hill had with her. She flipped to the part where even though it was upside down, Harry could read Statue of Wizarding Secrecy . She scanned it while Fury never took his eye off of Harry, and nodded him to continue while Hill went to a new page, pen at the ready. 

"You've both heard of the Salem Witch Trials, I'm sure." Harry stated. 

Fury and Hill shared a look before they nodded to Harry. Hill writing it down and underlining it in her notepad. 

"Persecution was an all too real thing, even after many came to America to start a new and were eventually away from the crown. There was an attempt by the Wizarding World to make a deal with the crown but that didn't do much. It made things worse actually. Since then the Wizarding world separated from the Muggle world. We were very behind on subjects of Muggles and even Muggleborns, but you have to understand the fear. Child death was higher than any other age of magical persecution. Children didn't have the knowledge or control to keep their powers hidden...what force in the world is stronger than paternal instinct wanting to protect their children?" Harry asked, knowing himself how much he would do and risk for Teddy alone. And now for every other child that's been under his care since the attack. 

"Those who have family to trace back generations know the dangers better. Warnings passed down through the generations. But what about possible parties formed by Muggleborns who don't have as strong as a connection? Who feel like those warnings are just old fables?" Hill asked. 

"Though we have gained confirmation of some with names of very old Magical families, yes it does seem that those who are protesting that the time to come out now are...of the younger generation. And Muggleborn. The Ministry is hiring many who can act as mediator, who understands both sides to try to negotiate. I actually know a few of those mediators to be. I went to school with them." Harry replied. Immediate in his mind, flashes of the Patil twins, Luna, and even Neville was taking some time away from teaching to help. 

"Is that all that's being done?" Fury asked.

Harry stared at them for a long time before saying. "Research and recons are being done as thoroughly as possible. Those who can be negotiated with will be negotiated with. Those who cannot be so easily reasoned with will...they will be _dealt_ with. But that's all I can say." 

Hill wrote more in her notebook before the mirror sparked to life and the Director of the American Magical Society was standing there. Every time Harry dealt with the American Wizarding society he couldn't help but make comparisons to the English. While the English have held back strongly on tradition in many aspects, including fashion, the Americans have not. 

Like Fury, Director Seth Hamilton, wore a suit of a high up of the Muggle FBI would wear. To Director's right stood his own right hand who looked as fierce and stoic as Hill did. Like Rita Skeeter's own self writing quill, Caroline Fowler had a ball point pen enchanted to take additional notes, since she too had a pad and pen in hand. She was dressed in a sophisticated blue woman's suit. 

"Mr. Potter." Director Hamilton greeted first with a nod. Then he turned to nod at Fury and Hill. "Director Fury. Agent Hill. Good morning. Thank you for your time."

"Likewise Director. Shall we get started?" Harry asked.

"Yes. I've received a letter from the Ministry of Magic a few hours ago." Director Hamilton stated. Ms. Fowler reached off screen to grab said letter and handed it to the director. 

"Good news, I hope." Fury said. 

"Well, it's not bad news at least. But can't really call them good either." The Director answered.

"I spoke with my contacts just this morning. They haven't mentioned anything worth mentioning to me." Harry said.

"As I said, it's not bad, but it's not good either. Our borders closing has caused an upset world wide. As you know, our magical government typically mimics that of the Muggle country. America's borders closing isn't a good sign. Panic and dread is easy to get out of hand. We want to open our borders as soon as possible but we need to be careful. Some nations are still afraid because they have no information at all. Those that do are wary. The point is we need to talk to people and help spread the message that things are being done...without delving too much into touchy subjects." The Director exclaimed.

"Please tell me you don't wish to have me speak in front of not just one nation but all of them?" Harry groaned at the thought alone.

The Director chuckled. "We thought about it. We all think it would help plenty. But having you on sight seems more logical. Plans are still being made, but there _will_ be a Wizarding version of a Nato conference. There is talk that your friend Ms. Granger will be the spokeswoman for the British. I will be speaking on the behalf of the Americans. And I am expanding an invitation to SHIELD to accompany me. A date has yet to be set but it will be a good time to start considering who would be attending."

Fury nodded. "Thank you. We will discuss that and get back to you on more details."

"Sir, representatives of the California field office just arrived." Ms. Fowler informed him. 

Director Hamilton nodded to her, then turned to the others. "I apologize, but I have to cut this short. We'll be in touch."

"Of course. Until then." Harry said before the connection died. 

"Has there ever been a gathering of magical elites from all over the world before?" Hill asked as she and Fury stood. 

Harry followed suit and shrugged. "Probably. But the last I knew of a lot of nations coming together was for Quidditch. And considering what happened that year, it never interested me to follow up."

Hill and Fury were both about to ask more questions when Jarvis interrupted them. 

_"Sir, Master Stark is very adamant about you returning. He fears Director Fury has you captive has already convinced Messeurs Barton and Banner on attempting a rescue mission. Miss Romanoff is not far behind in agreeing."  
_

Harry chuckled and shook his head. "Tell them I'm on the way." Then he turned to Fury and Hill. "Looks like I'm busy. You know your way, I'm sure. If anything important comes up, I'll have Jarvis send a text." 

With that, he exited the office, but not before grabbing the plate of muffins. They shouldn't go to waste and he was sure the kids would enjoy them. 

* * *

 

*A Week Later*

Harry met with just Hill this week. He had a prepared file with all the information relative to the Wizarding NATO situation. Maria looked through it briefly before tuckering it under her arm. "Thank you Mr. Potter."

"No problem." Harry said.

"So you won't be joining us?" Maria asked.

Harry shook his head. "I've been in the center of political games far too long. No way am I jumping back in if I can help it. Best of luck though. If you get the chance to speak with Hermione, and I'm sure she'll seek you out, tell her I said hello."

"I'm sure your friends miss you and wish to see you." Maria tried.

"No doubt. But they also know first hand what I've been through. They'll understand why they won't find me in the midst of a political agenda." Harry replied with a smirk. 

 _"Sir, Master Loki is wondering if you'll be finished soon? He wishes to continue his lessons."_ Jarvis announced.

"Tell him I'll be there shortly." Harry said. 

"So you're teaching him magic?" Maria tried to keep her voice as even as possible, but Harry heard the judgmental skepticism.

"He already has magic, and knows it. I'm teaching him discipline, control, and respect of his magic." Harry corrected.

"Considering he's the one who did this, don't you think-"

Harry cut her off. "I know what I think, and I know what I know. What I think is that Loki was a very lonely boy who grew up in the shadows without understanding why. His adult self is still in there and may be projecting the feelings and emotions to his child form that his adult one knew, which is quite frightening for the child.  What I know is that, yes magic can be dangerous, but even more when the user doesn't have control. Like a gun, as dangerous as it can be, it's even more dangerous is the one holding it doesn't know how to use it."

"While you can protecting him like this, once this is over, _you_ have to understand that he'll have to answer for what he's done." Maria warned him. 

Harry and her had an intense stare down before Harry turned and stormed off. 

* * *

 

*Day Of The Attack*

"Okay, so we're due to land in a few hours. It's mostly to refuel and restock but there are some cases that we'll be picking up. So FitzSimmons, I need you two to be ready, along with May." Coulson instructed. 

"What about me?" Skye asked, eager grin on her face.

Coulson sent her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Skye. Only SHIELD agents with access allowed."

"What? No fair!" Skye cried in protest. 

"You'll be continuing your training with Ward in the mean time, so don't worry...you won't be bored." Coulson said.

"Yeah, you'll be in pain." Ward said with a small smirk. 

Skye stuck her tongue out at him childishly. 

Coulson rolled his eyes. "Children; behave."

Both Ward and Skye were about to protest, while Simmons was about to ask about their next mission, when suddenly Hill's face appeared on all monitors. 

"Coulson."

"Hill? What's going on?" Coulson asked, dread and anticipation filling him. 

"You and your team need to report to Stark Tower _immediately_! There's been a barrier set around it that's taking time to take down. We have agents inside but the threat is HYDRA." Hill stated seriously.

Coulson paled, knowing what that meant. "What about Potter?"

"We haven't been able to reach him. By _any_ means. This isn't a drill. We got important hostages in there, most of them children. Your team needs to extract them and neutralize the threat." Hill ordered. 

"We're on the way." Coulson said. When the screen went black, Coulson said, "May, you got that?"

 _"Buckle up...we're going to see how fast the Bus can go."_ May's voice over the intercom said. They barely had time to sit somewhere before May floored it. 

* * *

 

"Potter? Potter, come on wake up!" Coulson shook Harry awake while casting looks at his team. 

Him and Ward had secured their way inside, Skye and FitzSimmons taking down whatever force field was placed around the tower by HYDRA. When Coulson and Ward were outnumbered, May came in as the back up they needed. Skye and Fitz came in behind and secured the agents in the tower and some of the kids. 

Harry groaned as he came to, but his vision was extremely fuzzy. "G'sses..."

"Gases?" Coulson echoed.

 _"I believe he's referring to his glasses, sir. Mr. Potter's vision is very...poor."_ Jarvis informed. 

"Oh, right. Of course. Um...has anyone found any glasses?" Coulson called out. 

"Circle kind with a black frame?" Skye called out from the other room.

"Yes!"

"They're broken..." Skye came in, holding them out to Coulson. 

"S'okay..." Harry muttered, sitting up more. Becoming more and more aware of his surroundings. He accepted the glasses from Coulson and concentrated while muttering. "Oculus reparo." And before their very eyes, the glasses became as good as new.

"No way..." Skye muttered with fascination. Then her face broke out into a huge grin, "That was _so_ cool!" 

"What are we dealing with here, Coulson?" Ward asked, more professionally. 

Before anyone can ask, a little voice broke through in Russian. _"Harry! Where's Harry? I need to speak with him!"_

 _"If you'll gives us just a moment, sweetie, we'll-"_ May was cut off from trying to explain to Natasha, as Natasha ran under her legs and towards the others.

_"HARRY! We need to hurry, they're gone, they're all gone!"_

Harry got up with the help of Coulson, and stared at Natasha for a moment before he redid the translator spell and asked her to repeat herself.

"They're all gone! The bad men took Tony and Loki after Teddy disappeared with Thor, Bruce, and Clint!" Natasha exclaimed. 

Harry's heart began to beat quickly and his whole self filled with dread. 

"Potter? What does this mean?" Coulson asked.

"I believe I know where most of them are. But that doesn't exclude the fact that Tony Stark and Loki of Asgard are now in enemy hands..." He paused before he told Coulson seriously. "Call everyone you got. This is beyond an emergency." 


	16. Language

"AHHHHHH!"

"AHHHHHH!"

"AHHHHHH!"

"AHHHHHH!"

"AHHHHHH!" 

Teddy did his best to grab on to Clint, Bruce, Thor, and Steve as they transported via the Portkey, but from the panic and fear along with the adrenaline kept him from keeping his grip. Thor, Steve, and Bruce swirled away from him but he kept a tight embrace around Clint as they fell. 

The vortex was coming to an end and Teddy could begin to make out the shop his godfather had been tending too before the attack happened. He landed with a thud and an "Oomph!" He didn't bother caring about the pain he felt as he stood and inspected Clint.

"Are you alright?" Teddy asked, checking the young blond over. 

Clint was panicked and looking around for any possible danger. Teddy noticed his his little hands clenched and unclenched, and reached for things that weren't there. His godfather explained who each of the avengers were as adults and what they did. Both he and his godfather knew that who they were as adults were still inside of them somewhere, and Teddy wasn't surprised that all of this chaos was bringing out some survival instincts to the forefront. 

"Clint?" Teddy called again. 

"Where's everyone else? What happened? Where are we?" Clint asked, eyes wide and chest heaving as he panted, trying to grab his breath. 

"Ow...."

Both Clint and Teddy turned at the voice and ran over to Steve. He was covered in a few books that fell on him from the book shelves. Luckily, Harry anchored all of the shelves in the shop. The strong winds of their arrival just...rattled a lot of the objects around. There was broken glass from vases and picture frames, books littered around and out of place, and furniture thrown askew. But that was the least of their troubles. 

"Steve! Are you alright?" Teddy asked as he and Clint helped him up.

Steve rubbed the back of his head and nodded. "Yeah...I mean, I can move everything. Just sore."

Teddy let out a sigh of relief. Then he called out, "Bruce?"

"What happened?" Steve asked, also looking for the browned haired boy. 

Clint was still looking alert and panicked. "We have to go back! Bad guys attacked the tower!"

"That's right!" Steve's eyes widened as it all came back. "Where are the others? Natasha!? Bruce! Thor! Loki! Tony!"

 _"I am here, friends!"_ Thor exclaimed, though no one could understand a word he said. They were relieved to see him either way. 

Teddy raised his wand and preformed the language spell on Thor. Glad it wasn't complicated since right now communication was key. "What was that, bud?"

"I claimed that I am here. But we should make haste! Banner's fear got the best of him...he's unleashed the beast!" Thor exclaimed. 

"Wha-?" Before Teddy could even get the question out, Bruce- or rather the Hulk- unleashed a might roar. Teddy grabbed Thor's and Clint's hand as Steve was already heading towards the door. Opening it, they closed it just as the Hulk crashed into it.

"What do we do?" Steve asked.

"The shop was warded by dad. He made sure the walls could withstand a lot...even the Hulk. Until dad shows up, we just have to keep calm and hope Bruce calms down enough." Teddy explained.

" _What_? You mean we're not going back to the Tower? But they need us!" Clint exclaimed.

" _Aye_! My brother is there!" Thor yelled. 

"So are Tony, Natasha, and Harry!" Steve reminded them. 

Teddy was torn. Part of him _did_ want to go back to the Tower. Maybe had Bruce remained Bruce, he would have tried. But then he remembered the many talks he's had with Harry about safety. About what he and his friends had to go through during the war, and protocols they've set up afterwards. So he steeled his resolved and took charge of those in front of him. 

"I know that's what we all want to do. Trust me, I _do_ want to go back, but we _can't_!" The boys were about to protest but Teddy forged on. "We're in times of trouble, so we have to follow dad's guidelines. He had the Portkey ready for emergencies like these. We may not know where they are, but we know where they're going. They're coming _here_! Here is where we're need too, so here is where we stay. We need to remain here for Bruce to change back. We need to remain here until dad comes back with the others for us."

"But what if they need help? What if they're in trouble?" Steve asked. Part of him falling into line with what Teddy said. Another part of him wanting to desperately go back for his friends. But some of his friends were here, and needed help too. It was conflicting.

"Dad's there. He's Harry _freaking_ Potter. He's always in trouble but he's also trouble to deal with. You have all heard his stories...you know he can do this." Teddy told them with a firm belief. 

* * *

"Let us go you stupid moron! You're going to pay and I know money! I will make you poor!" Tony screamed at his captors from his placed where he was tied up.

"Calm down. Will Tony think second?" Loki's voice, far calmer, brought Tony's attention to the other.

Tony raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's the matter Shakespeare? You're usually more elaborate."

"Spell gone. No communicate right. Learning your tongue." Loki said the words carefully, hoping they'd make sense. 

And by some miracle they did. "Right...Harry did that spell that let us all understand each other's native tongues. Which you, Thor, and Natasha needed since English isn't your native language. Wait...you learned English in this short time?" Tony asked.

"Books." Was Loki's nonchalant reply along with a shrug. 

"Right. Anything in those books that'll help us out of here?" Tony asked hopefully.

"Yes. But wand required." Loki said. 

Tony frowned as the observed their captives. They were on a jet. It was quite roomy. Enough that they were in their own small room as captives. Their hands and feet were bound but Tony was a genius and Loki's clothes were battle practical as they were...questionably fashionable. 

"Okay. You're stronger than me so listen up okay? I'm going to tighten these things." He said motioning to the zip ties around their hands. "You're going push your elbows backwards as hard as you can towards your hips. This will apply pressure and make the zip break. Then you can shift some of the metal in your clothes slash armor and cut the rest of us loose, okay?"

Loki mentally did the motion in his head before nodding to Tony. When they both nodded at the ready, Loki tried. It took him twice to get it but his hands were freed. It took a bit of concentration and Tony's bickering instructions but they were eventually free. 

Tony then smirked at Loki. "Let's get your wand and show these bastards they don't mess with the Potters!" 

* * *

"Magic is real!?" Skye asked with childlike mirth.

"No, it's not. It's impossible!" Simmons tried to argue.

"I just saw him turn his beat up and shattered glassed back to good as new! How do you explain that?" Skye asked.

"Mind tricks." Fitz said. "Illusions and mirrors and smokes." He added. 

"Yes! Slight of hand! Or a form of advance science!" Simmons exclaimed. 

"Normally I would try to understand what either of you two say." May began as she motioned to FitzSimmons, but then motioned towards the little girl standing next to Harry. "But unless Black Widow managed to have a child, she's been de-aged. And if there was some sort of scientific reason to explain that, then how is it that I tried to coax her into speaking English but she didn't understand any of it, or spoke it, then Potter spoke in Latin and she could speak perfect English?"

"I...I...I don't know." Simmons deflated, defeated with a headache coming on. 

"Guys come on, with all that's happened it's not...too weird, right? And I mean...how cool is that!? _Magic_!" Skye continued to be fascinated by the motion. 

"Our team's specialty is weirdness." Ward commented. 

"Yes, but weirdness that can be explained!...Eventually." Simmons argued. 

"Regardless if you believe in it or not, that's not the mission. We've got children missing. Considering their...abilities, it's in everyone's best interest to get them back as soon as possible. Potter thinks he knows where the majority of them are. Should be safe. Time is of the essence. HYDRA is an issue but not the priority. Understand?" Coulson asked as he came back to talk to them.

Everyone nodded with complete seriousness. Believing in magic may be up to debate, but not who they were. They were heroes and right now children were in need of saving. 

* * *

"Are they going to be okay?" Natasha asked quietly while they rode in the Bus towards Harry's shop. 

Harry grabbed her hand and gave it a slight squeeze. "I'm sure they're fine. The boys have each other and Teddy."

"What about Loki and Tony?" She asked. 

Harry frowned a bit at that because he honestly didn't know what lengths HYDRA would go to. At this point all he had was his imagination and that was enough to make him want to puke. But he had to be strong for Natasha and the others when they were reunited. So he forced a smile, "Tony's a genius with technology and Loki's a wiz in magic. Together the two of them will hold their own until we get there."

"Promise?"

"I swear to Natasha...I'll do everything in my power to get the boys back safe and sound." He promised her. 

* * *

"DAD!"

"HARRY!" 

"NATASHA!"

There was a huge hugging session as Harry and Natasha exited the Bus and ran towards the boys waiting in front of Harry shop. Harry counted all of them and frowned, "Where's Bruce?"

"Inside. He's feeling a little...green." Teddy replied.

Harry's eyes widened. "Okay...listen, you all head inside the Bus, okay. Follow Natasha and Agent Coulson and strap in. I won't be long."

None of the boys, or Natasha, moved. Then Thor stepped up and asked, "Where's my brother?"

"And Tony?" Steve asked next. 

Harry looked at all of them before admitting. "They were taken." 

"WHAT?!" Thor cried. 

"But we'll get them back, I promise you Thor. But first...let me get Bruce, okay?"

"Alright, children. Onto the Bus." Coulson tried to coax the children inside. 

Clint turned and glared at him. "You ain't the boss of us, slick!"

"Is that agent Barton?" May asked quietly as the other team members came to make sure the area was secure. 

"Mr. Lupin, would you please assist me in escorting the children inside?" Coulson asked Teddy. 

"I ain't going anywhere until Harry comes back!" Clint said stubbornly as he crossed his arms over his chest. 

"Guys, if we wanna rescue Tony and Loki, we can't do it on foot. We're going to need their plane." Teddy told them. 

"I see what you're saying. Natasha and I will take them out with the help of Thor while you and Steve prepare for lift off! We're high jacking this baby!" Clint exclaimed. 

Teddy face palmed, "No, Clint. We're...let's just go inside."

Natasha rolled her eyes and punched Clint playfully. "Don't be such a dumb dumb." 

"It was a good plan, but now you've all ruined it by no doing it and giving away the element of surprise." Clint pouted as he jumped onto the ramp. "Can I fly this thing?"

Teddy turned to Coulson, "You may want to go make sure his inner pilot isn't...tempted."

Coulson ran after Clint to do just that while Teddy waited for Harry to come back out. 

When Harry came out with an unconscious Bruce in his arms, they all boarded the Bus. Skye led them to the bunks where they could lay Bruce down. Harry ordered Natasha, Steve, and Thor to watch over Bruce while he went to discuss things with Coulson. Clint was busy in the cockpit, strapped to the pilot chair, watching as May maneuvered them into the sky. 

"Do you all believe the wizard will get my brother back?" Thor mumbled. 

"He's _Harry_! Of course he will! He promised. Harry keeps his promises." Natasha told him. 

"She's right, Thor. Plus, we'll all help!" Steve added.

"Thank you friends. But I cannot feel better until my younger brother is safe and sound." Thor said. 

* * *

"So...I don't suppose you have any way of finding Mr. Stark and Loki?" Coulson asked.

"If we are still dealing with just muggles, and there isn't anything around them blocking their signatures, I should be able to do a locater spell." Harry replied.

* * *

  


"Find?" Loki asked. 

It almost made Tony laugh at how much the normally well spoken boy was reduced to such basic vocabulary. But he couldn't laugh while being in such a dangerous situation with him. 

Tony kept his eyes out as he searched and then spotted it. "Yes!"

"What was what?!"

"Where are the kids!?

Loki glared at Tony. 

Tony just pouted. "Shit." 


End file.
